29 Jun 2009

Taking part in an after-school sport program is changing the lives of 30 young Sudanese refugees in west Melbourne.

The funding of a specialist multicultural aide at St Albans Primary School in Melbourne has been crucial to forging links between the Sudanese community and the Australian Sports Commission’s Active After-school Communities (AASC) program.

AASC Regional Coordinator Dominic Tulloch says the program’s success is directly attributable to the aide’s presence.

‘Most of the Sudanese children have limited knowledge of English and many have had no previous experience of schooling or structured sporting activities and so the aide plays a critical role in linking the community and the program.

‘The aide is from the Sudanese community [which] assists in breaking down the language and cultural barriers for the children and their parents, and supports the non-Sudanese coaching staff in achieving their program goals,’ Tulloch said.

Thirty Sudanese children take part in the fully booked program, held every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 3.30–4.30pm.

‘Many have faced traumatic experiences before arriving in Australia and so it’s heartening to see that being part of the AASC program can bring them so much joy.

‘They definitely prefer sports that are free-flowing, and don’t have complex rules, such as soccer, basketball, athletics, softball and dance. We are also creating transitional links to sporting clubs in the area, such as Keilor Little Athletics Club, so they can continue to participate in sport outside of our program,’ Tulloch said.

The AASC program, an Australian Government initiative, is delivered by the Australian Sports Commission and provides primary school children with fun, free and safe introductions to over 70 sports and 20 structured physical activities.

Approximately 150 000 children participate in the AASC program, which is run in up to 3250 schools and after school care centres across every state and territory.