When the Educators Face their Students

"This project answers a real problem of our society. AADS plays an essential role in drawing up educational and training projects for young aborigines - measures which have been ignored for too long in Australia."
Ray Cochrane

Dispossessed of their original cultures, experiencing problems in finding jobs in their native regions causing the dispersion of the families, the breakup of social links and the loss of ancestral bearings: for decades, most of the aborigines of Australia are surviving in difficult psychic conditions. This situation causes a great deal of self-destructive behavior among them, particularly alcoholism and drug addiction. In Western Australia, in the city of Perth, the association Aboriginal Alcohol & Drug Service (AADS) has since 1988 been accompanying youths who suffer from such addictive practices.

Two Jobs Created

In partnership with local collaborators, has been mounting personalized teaching support projects for them. Yet since the distances often tend to discourage the youths from following complementary courses in town, it has decided to dispense this educational aid at home and in a school environment. It has therefore set up the project to acquire a van with a trailer equipped with teaching materials. It then turned to the local subsidiary of Veolia Transport (Southern Coast Transit), close to its head office, to consider a partnership.

At the beginning of the relationship between the two structures, the idea was simply that AADS would obtain a permit to park its future vehicle in the company depot. Bonds were then created, and staff from Veolia Transport were invited to sponsor the children benefiting from the program. Today, fondation Veolia is assisting the acquisition of the new van.

This project, which is undeniably very useful for the youths that it will help in the coming years, will also help create two jobs for educators in the association.