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Project Spotlight
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Welcome to Givewell's Project Spotlight. Each month we highlight a project for which a charity is currently seeking funds. We also provide details on how to give directly for this project.
Background Information: Once a term, usually during the first week of school vacation, the Aboriginal Literacy Foundation run a Literacy and Heritage Camp. Camps have now been held in Melbourne, based at Ross House and Melbourne University, Ballarat University and in South Australia in conjunction with the Independent Schools Association’s Indigenous Education Program. Recent research, in Australia and overseas, has shown that Indigenous students perform better in Indigenous classes and outside the traditional classroom environment. The camps allow students to really concentrate on their learning needs and achieve more in a week than they would if the same tutoring time was spread over a month. Project Description: The camps usually start at 9.00 a.m. with a solid three hours of literacy – reading and writing. The tutoring is based on one to one or at worst one to two or three students per tutor. This part of the camp, whilst hard, is appreciated by students. The main advantage is that all students are individually tested and work at their ability levels. Then local community leaders and elders take the students for the afternoon for the heritage component. They visit sacred sites, hear the traditional history and where possible learn traditional skills. In the Ballarat area, for example, there is a certain type of traditional basket making, which is still able to be taught. This part of the camp is appreciated by both the older and younger generation. The last part of the camp is recreation or the “incentive”. In the city a visit to a cinema or Luna Park or something similar is arranged. In the country, horseback riding is usually arranged as Indigenous children love animals, but especially riding. The Benefits: The benefits can be demonstrated by testing students, most of whom have severe reading difficulties at the start of the camp. Typically students tested at the start of the camp with a reading age of 7 or 8 years on the Schonnell scale, a week later have sometimes improved by a year or more (a student from Northern Territory last year improved by one and a half years in 10 days). An additional benefit is social: the chance to be with one’s peers, to meet with elders and above all value not just a western education but the traditional cultures. Can donors/grant makers give directly for this project? Yes. All donations to the Aboriginal Literacy Foundation Inc. over $2 are tax deductible. Contact details for further information: Dr Tony Cree, CEO Ph: (03) 5332 2139 Mob: 0400 627 923 Email: unimelb@netconnect.com.au Website: www.aboriginalliteracyfoundation.org Previous Project Spotlights
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