18 NEWSBOYS FOUNDATION ANNUAL REPORT 2018 GRANTS PHUNKTIONAL The Second Story – Building Social Cohesion Through the Arts The Second Story is a partnership project between Robinvale P-12 School, Robinvale District Health Services, Murray Valley Aboriginal Co-operative, Mallee Sexual Assault Unit and Phunktional to engage young people from Robinvale in a range of creative arts activities that lead to positive education, health and wellbeing outcomes. Phunktional is working with local emerging artists and delivering arts workshops to young people resulting in theatre performances and two youth- created films. www.phunktional.org.au RIVER NILE LEARNING CENTRE Engagement & Wellbeing The River Nile Learning Centre (RNLC) provides education classes to young refugee and asylum seeker women to enable them to learn English and develop life and work skills to integrate and thrive in our community. Newsboys support has enabled a part-time Social Welfare Worker to be employed to support approximately 80 young women aged between 16-21. Welfare support helps the young women and their children to sort through complex life issues so they can focus on their education and develop skills for a positive future. rnlc.org.au “I came to Australia in 2013 with my father because he was being persecuted by the Iran government and we didn’t feel safe. We were kept in Australian detention centres such as Nauru, Christmas Island and Darwin for three years. I got released into community detention in Melbourne in 2016. In 2017 I joined the River Nile, it was the best thing for me, I got to improve my English but also got help in lots of others ways. It gave me confidence and helped me find myself. River Nile isn’t just a school to me it is more than that, it’s a home that educates and supports me and understands my situation as an asylum seeker.” ST MARTINS YOUTH ARTS CENTRE Code Red Code Red is a collaborative project by St Martins Youth Arts Centre and Worawa Aboriginal College. Over the course of twelve months the collaborators are developing a multidisciplinary play featuring a group of girls aged 12-16 from Worawa College. The project theme is ‘language’ in all its forms. It offers inspiration and insight about young Aboriginal women who are overcoming barriers to realise their potential in a competitive modern world. The project aims to develop the girls’ storytelling and performance skills and raise their levels of confidence and communication abilities. The work is being developed and rehearsed during a workshop program led by three female artists including Indigenous writer/ dramaturg Kamarra Bell-Wykes, St Martins’ artistic director Nadja Kostich and an Indigenous cultural facilitator/ artist. The project will culminate with a performance at the Yirramboi First Nations Festival in the Arts Centre Melbourne’s Hamer Hall in May 2019. stmartinsyouth.com.au “I think it’s important for me, for the younger generations to keep speaking the ancestors’ language and keep carrying it on. So I feel like they can see us and I feel like they’re proud of us when we’re doing something good.” River Nile Learning Centre Phunktional