29/09/2020 – 30/09/2020
Instead of our usual vacation overseas to orphanages, we stayed in Perth. In Narrogin, about 200 km away from Perth, we cleaned up and old church to turn it into an Aboriginal Children’s Centre. It was different to our annual routine as we weren’t around children as much. Nevertheless, it was still fun.
On the final day, we briefly met a group of Aboriginal children who attended the centre for bible study and activities. We had brought some footballs to give to the children to keep. When we gave it to them, they were very surprised. One of the boys asked, “Is this for us to have, ‘have’?” When we answered yes, he asked a second time to make sure he heard us correctly. I think that they were surprised because they don’t usually get given things without having to work for it.
I think that helping out and giving back to the community is a great way to show that we care and want to make a change. I hope that the building we cleaned up will be put into a good use and whoever uses it will appreciate our work. The Narrogin trip was a great experience in continuing our deeds to others.
~ Amelia
We went on a stay trip to Narrogin to paint, fix and clean up a dilapidated church on Tuesday as part of a group. First I weeded and weeded so much that I think my hand fell off. All the weeds went into a big bag and it filled up sooo quickly I must have done a third and a half of it.
Then we painted and got all messy because of me accidentally painting yellow paint everywhere (even my hair) I thought that it would never come out.
One of the group members asked me to pick up rubbish from under a tree because I was small enough to get under the gaps. There were broken bottles, dirty plastic and window frames with shattered glass. It made me wonder who and why people would trash a place where kids go to learn.
In total, we spent around 10 hours of hard work over 2 days. I wonder if the children appreciate the work and effort we put in doing these things. It feels good to know that we are helping people in actual need and being committed. I’ve had a fulfilling time at Narrogin.
~ Zuriel
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