Now as opposed to war as I am, I have to say I learnt something very valuable during my daughters time at bootcamp.Firstly it is not my decision as to how my children choose to live their lives but it is my role as their mother to support their decisions even if I am not particularly happy about it. Secondly, despite my disapproval of war, this boot camp was the most impressive thing I have ever seen in terms of helping young Indigenous men and women to change their lives in a positive way. It really made an impact on me.
Tough love works....
I was fortunate enough to have a small inside perspective of this program and let me say it was definitely impressive. The ultimate aim of the camp is to encourage Indigenous men and women to join the defence force, however it had a much broader purpose. To develop self esteem, improve education and create a sense of meaning for those who are wondering lost throughout our society. My daughter was probably one of only a couple of people there who were there because they had a goal in mind. The others were there because they wished to take advantage of an opportunity that had the potential to change their lives.
And it resulted in just that. The graduates from this program where extremely motivated and fully aware that when they went home the momentum would end abruptly and it would be up to them to call on the reserve strength that they had learnt whilst at boot camp to make sure that they do not slide down the path of 'nowhere' ever again. From what I could see the program was focused around the ability to look within ourselves, take responsibility and own up to the choices that we have made in our adult life without blaming others and to act on those decisions in a positive way. This bootcamp also gave these young people a sense of place, identity, direction and taught them to let go of the past so that they could focus on a new future free of encumbrances, developed from their own sense of strength and wellbeing learnt from boot camp.
As cynical as I was when my daughter first told me about this program, (not that I could stop her from going) it turned out to be the best thing I had ever seen and I felt overwhelmed with emotion to see these young people, (some of whom came from backgrounds that where leading to 'nowhere') achieve respect, dignity and self esteem in 8 weeks of intensive training that pushed them physically and emotionally to breaking point and come out the other end whole human beings. I have seen and participated in many government programs designed for Aboriginal people that never work and the Australian government continues to run the same programs that don't work in the same way. This is the first program I have seen that actually works.
Very impressive indeed it was. Despite my misgivings about the armed forces I have to say thank you for a job well done. It is the first program that I have seen organised for Indigenous people that had actually created practical skills useful for changing their own lives. Totally amazing.
As you can see I am still overwhelmed by the outcome of this program and the fantastic response of these young men and women who are now going to go on to participate in the life lane in a positive way. Not all of them will join the defence forces, however those that do not join up will be redirected to employers working in partnership with the Australian Government and the Australian Defence Force. These young people will be followed up to make sure their time at boot camp is not wasted and that they will have a chance in life.
As I sing the praises of this program and observed the outcome of the participants I have to say I am still anti-war. It is a shame that we have to have war to create such meaningful discipline of the mind, soul and body to create a sense of direction for people who need guidance.
However, my congratulations to the Australian Defence Force and I can only hope that more of these programs will be run for all young people who need someone to hold out their hand and offer a life line of hope to establish a brighter more positive future.
Impressive indeed!
I am not surprised at the positive outcome of this program. And, working with Aboriginal people and young wadjela kids as well, I agree, tough love is the answer. I am quite hard on them sometimes, at times I am worried that I am too hard, others say I am too soft! But as I always say, nobody learns anything by being 'comfortable' and people are often comfortable in their own shit, they are used to it and don't want to believe sometimes that there is a way out of it.
ReplyDeleteYes thats exactly what it is, being comfortable in their own shit. You know its easy to blame everybody else rather than taking responsibility for our own actions. But someone wise actually said to me that '...some people just need to be told what to do? I think they are right. I mean my daughter cannot dress herself half the time. Her fashion designer sister taught her about her body shape, what suits her and what type of cuts to buy when choosing clothes. She dresses great now, but it took a while and I noticed when she cannot be bothered she falls back on the anything will do...! the point is she looks fantastic when she does what her sister tells her, see she just needed to be told how to do it. I think the program offers hope. Thats a big thing. I think being hard is a bit hard on yourself, I reckon you would be fair and firm. That is a good thing. Everybody needs boundaries. It is important to know ones limits. Not limitations, but limits. Boundaries provide us with reason, therefore we think before we act, if we have no boundaries how do we know how far is too far before its too late. I was having a conversation with my parents about manners. You know young people have dispelled good manners. Even in emails there is not Good morning or Hi just straight out talking. If we have no manners how do we learn respect for other people?
ReplyDeleteIf we don't respect other people how do we have respect for ourselves. I think some people have not learnt respect for themselves and then blame others. Learning to live with ourselves means we can then live with others.
ReplyDeleteI agree, respect for others is what gives respect for self and vice versa. I say 'good morning' to my young students (Grafix & Media) and some respond, but most don't. The ones who don't are so needy and lacking in self worth - it's pretty telling.
ReplyDeleteExactly, thats my point, how we treat other people is how people respond to us. Imagine going through life not saying hello or good morning or how are you to people. I mean you could end up very lonely....lol
ReplyDeleteNot to mention sad!
ReplyDelete