The ‘Girls at the Centre’ program is run in partnership with the Smith Family and is supported by both Korowa and Ruyton Girls Schools.
As part of their visit to Melbourne, 22 girls were welcomed by Western Bulldogs Senior Coach Rodney Eade and enjoyed a behind the scenes tour of the Western Bulldogs facilities.
Western Bulldogs Indigenous stars Jarrod Harbrow and Brennan Stack also took time out from training to meet the group before they sat back and watched the players be put through their paces.
The program was developed by the Smith Family, after they were approached by the Indigenous Education and Employment Taskforce (IEET) to help address social issues amongst Indigenous teenage girls.
Catherine Phillips from the Smith Family says that the program looks to help girls who are at risk of becoming disengaged from mainstream education.
“IEET’s research shows that Indigenous girls in Alice Springs are 4 to 5 times more likely to be mothers before they are 19 years old. So we have a lot of girls dropping out of school due to pregnancy,” Catherine said.
Co-ordinator for Special Programs at Ruyton Girls School Julie Hoskin said the trip is an important part of the girls development and provides pathways for furthering their education.
“This part of the program is a reward for the girls who have been working really hard. We have also been visiting Universities here in Melbourne, so while these girls may have the dream to go to university, now they can visualise it,” Julie said.
