Eight Year 11 students from St Joseph’s Catholic College in East Gosford travelled to Warmun, a remote indigenous community in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.
Warmun, also known as Turkey Creek, is a small town located three thousand kilometres north of Perth and is home to just two hundred people. The traditional owners of the area are the Gija peoples.
The trip was an “immersion” trip, which meant the students stayed in the town with local families and had an opportunity to live in the community.
“The community welcomed us so warmly into their culture, which allowed us to make strong connections with the people of this town,” Allyson Todd, one of the students, said. “It was a privilege to be involved.”
The students were welcomed with a traditional smoke ceremony, and then spent ten days living in Warmun, helping at the local school and building friendships with the kids there. “Every morning we were greeted with their cheerful and loving natures and their contagious smiles instantly brightened up our mornings,” Alison said.
St Joseph’s Principal, Tony McCudden said “We have been running this immersion trip for a few years now and have built up a wonderful relationship with the Warmun community. While our girls are very generous in what they give to this experience they are also very fortunate to receive so much from their interaction with the students and the rest of the Warmun community.”