21 Jun Moving ahead in Cape York
Since 2011 the Hotline has been getting calls from the small First Nations community of Pormpuraaw on the Gulf of Carpentaria. A men’s group wanting to read fishing magazines, people hoping for jobs at the nearby mine, and an intergenerational support program all needed literacy help, but nothing was available in the region. Even high school students have to leave the community to study.
In late 2019 the Commonwealth’s Foundation Skills for Your Future program was launched, and the Hotline helped the community to partner with TAFE to successfully win funding for a workplace literacy project. But others in the community can’t access the program. Disengaged young people, and parents needing to help their kids at school were still high and dry with literacy.
Community leaders contacted us again for advice on how to support people without access to programs. Soon, the local youth hub started a small weekly literacy/numeracy group with learning resources from the Hotline, to help young people bridge the gap to boarding school or distance education programs. And now the Playgroup is using Hotline booklets for parents, with ideas on how to support babies and toddlers with early literacy.
With energy from the locals, the Hotline can help make a difference in remote communities.