Newsletter 5
March 2008
30A Pickett St Footscray Victoria Australia 3011
Phone (03) 9687 6244
A Centre for Opportunity
A Sudanese friend of mine recently imparted to me a
saying from his community: ‘Behind every successful
youth lies a strong family, but the weakness of a young
person is the weakness of the family.’ While I think we all
acknowledge that such an idea is a simplification of a
very complex issue, it rests on a foundation of truth.
The stories of RNLC’s students are deeply sad. Often
involving great personal loss, our students have fled their
home country under the worst conditions and have lived
in over-crowded refugee camps or struggled to survive in
neighbouring countries for often up to 16 years.
Particularly for those young refugees from Africa, their
experiences have afforded them little, if any, opportunity
for schooling.
It is small wonder, then, that in Australia young refugees
struggle at school. There are hundreds of such young
people in Victoria, aged between 15 and 20 years old,
who struggle with literacy, numeracy, social literacy and
with the simple fact that they may be in year 10 without
having done years 1 to 9. Experience has shown that
approximately 40-50% of these young people leave
school within the first year of attending, some due to
welfare issues such as teenage pregnancy, and others
who become more traditionally ‘disengaged’. As that
saying implies, moreover, our students often have family
issues. Either they have become separated from family
during their refugee experiences, or, sadly, they face
estrangement issues. These factors all act as barriers to
our students’ access to that ever-important ‘fair go’.
As our teaching program has developed, we have seen
that RNLC’s place is to be a centre for opportunity. Our
role is to provide our students with the knowledge, the
skills and, most importantly, the self-confidence to move
forward in life. Ultimately, for our young people, we must
be the strong family which they need to be successful.
ABN 20 382 591 724
Web: www.rnlc.org.au Email: [email protected]
10 enrolled students (our highest number ever), and are
in the process of engaging still more.
Our students are responding well to the program, with a
lot of improvement in their literacy, numeracy and general
ability as well as, most importantly, a growing awareness
of the importance of education in life.
By the end of June, we intend to have 15 – 20 students
enrolled.
More information on our teaching program can be found
on our website: www.rnlc.org.au
Learning Support Programs
Over January 2008, RNLC ran a highly successful
summer program for students, funded chiefly by the
Rotary Club of Footscray. The program included lots of
activities, involved 30+ students and was appreciated
greatly. A detailed report can be found on our website.
We are continuing to run our homework help program on
Monday nights, supporting young refugee students at
secondary school. Providing this program continues to
be successful, we will increase it to Thursday nights as
well.
Curriculum Development
We are very excited that, this year, Victoria University
DipEd students are involved in a partnership between
Mowbray College, Melton, and RNLC for curriculum
development. This will involve teaching placements at
Mowbray, and an applied curriculum project at RNLC
developing material designed on the specific numeracy
needs of young refugee students.
Commentary
This is the final article in a series by Ambrose Mareng, a
key member of the Sudanese community in Melbourne,
regarding issues in the education of adolescent refugees.
Tim Molesworth, Director
Operations Update
After the success of our teaching program in term 4 of
last year, RNLC has begun 2008 with a strong capacity
for growth. Our priorities for this year focus on continuing
to develop our programs into really worthwhile initiatives
that address refugee education issues effectively and
expanding access to our services to more members of
the community.
Teaching Program
Our teaching program, focussing on young refugee
students who have left school early, has started off 2008
successfully. At the end of term 1, we are dealing with
Part 3: What can parents do to help?
•Show love
When our children behave badly, we may become angry
or upset with them. We may also feel miserable because
we become angry or upset. But these feelings are
different from not loving our children. Young adolescents
need adults who are there for them—people who connect
with them, communicate with them, spend time with them
and show a genuine interest in them. This is how they
learn to care for and love others. According to school
counsellor Carol Bleifield, "Parents can love their children
but not necessarily love what they do—and children need
to trust that this is true."
The River Nile Learning Centre Inc (RNLC) was formed in 2006 in response to issues in refugee education in Melbourne’s West and Australia generally. We have
been providing education services from our location in the heart of Footscray since the start of 2007. Our location in Footscray means that we work particularly
with students from Sudan and the horn of Africa.
The River Nile Learning Centre
•Provide support
Young adolescents need support as they struggle with
problems that may seem unimportant to their parents and
families. They need praise when they've done their best.
They need encouragement to develop interests and
personal characteristics. This is very important for
refugee students.
•Set limits
Young adolescents need parents or other adults who
consistently provide structure and supervision that is firm
and appropriate for age and development. Limits keep
all children, including young teens, physically and
emotionally safe. Psychologist Diana Baumrind identifies
three types of parents: authoritarian, permissive and
authoritative.
 Authoritarian parents are those who lay down hardand-fast rules and expect their children to always do
as they are told.
 Permissive parents have very few rules or
regulations and give their children too much freedom.
They are likely to have a difficult time controlling their
children.
 Authoritative parents set limits that are clear and
come with explanations. They, tend to struggle less
with their adolescents. "Do it because I said so"
probably didn't work for your son when he was 6 and
it's even less likely to work now that he's an
adolescent.
•Be a role model
Young adolescents need strong role models. Try to
show the behaviour and values that you hope your child
will develop. Your actions speak louder than words. If
you set high standards for yourself and treat others with
kindness and respect, your child stands a better chance
of following your example.
•Teach responsibility
We are not born knowing how to act responsibly. A
sense of responsibility is formed over time. As children
grow up, they need to learn to take more and more
responsibility for such things as:
 completing chores that contribute to the family's well
being, such as doing yard work, cleaning their rooms
or helping to prepare meals;
 completing homework assignments without being
nagged;
 taking on community activities; and
 admitting to both the good and bad choices that they
make.
•Provide a range of experiences
Adolescence is a time for exploring many areas and
doing new things. Your child may try new sports, new
academic pursuits and read new books. He may
experiment with different forms of art, learn about
different cultures and careers and take part in community
activities. Within your means, you can open doors for
30A Pickett St Footscray Victoria Australia 3011
Newsletter
March 2008
your child. You can introduce him to new people and to
new worlds. In doing so, you may renew in yourself longignored interests and talents, which also can set a good
example for your child. Don't be discouraged when his
interests change.
•Show respect
It is tempting to label all young adolescents as being
difficult and rebellious. But these youngsters vary as
much as do children in any other age group. Your child
needs to be treated with respect, which requires you to
recognize and appreciate his/her differences and to treat
him/her as an individual. Respect also requires you to
show compassion by trying to see things from your child's
point of view and to consider his/ her needs and feelings.
Other News
Website
Our website is host to information about what we do,
news and publications. We are constantly adding to it, so
please check regularly.
Also, if you receive this newsletter in hardcopy and would
like to receive it via email, saving on printing and postage
costs and reducing paper use, please send an email to
[email protected] and we can add you to the
mailing list.
Support
We at the River Nile Learning Centre are extremely
grateful for the donations you have given us. They go a
long way to addressing a critical need in the community.
For more information on how we spend the money,
please see our 2006-2007 Annual Report or contact us
for more information.
While our teaching costs are borne, in large part, by
support from the Victorian government, we need to
fundraise for our administrative, resource and Learning
Support Program costs.
If you feel able to contribute in any way, please contact
us. We accept cash (in person) and cheques made out
to The River Nile Learning Centre. All donations above
$2 are tax deductible.
From time to time, we also need volunteers for our
various programs. We advertise these positions on our
website.
The River Nile Learning Centre Inc
A 30a Pickett St Footscray VIC 3011
T (03) 9687 6244
E [email protected]
W www.rnlc.org.au
Phone (03) 9687 6244
Web: www.rnlc.org.au Email: [email protected]
Endorsed by Australian Taxation Office as Deductible Gift Recipient