加倍努力帮助年轻的土着人民

作为Viva Ener雷电竞gy与国家土着体育机会学院（NASCA）合作的一部分，来自Viva Energy的18名志愿者在纳斯卡赛事上帮助了150多小时的时间。这包括Aimee Ilano的惊人个人贡献82小时来支持他们的计划*。

当viva雷电竞能量宣布它three-year partnership with NASCA2018年，Aimee暂停了涉及的机会。

NASCA成立于1995年，是一个非营利组织，有助于加强社区发展和文化骄傲，在年轻的土着人民中复苏。它运行旨在鼓励学校出勤和参与，建立信心和自尊，促进文化认同的发展的计划。

“我很高兴参与，”她解释道。“我爱孩子，并且在菲律宾成长，那里有一个很好的社区意识，我以为这将是一个奇妙的机会，可以再次感受到。”

Initially Aimee helped supervise NASCA students on excursions, but she felt she could contribute in a more meaningful way. The school in Western Sydney that offers NASCA’s Resilience Program also proved difficult to regularly get to from work, so she looked into other options and found the NASCA Remote Program*.

Intense and rewarding

“The Remote Program is eight days in total,” says Aimee. “We spent a day of induction, which included development activities and cultural awareness training in Sydney, before flying out to Alice Springs.”

“这是我第一次访问澳大利亚中部。在Alice Springs中还有两天的准备，前一个三小时的车程，我们将在未来五天度过。“

The twenty NASCA volunteers were split up and sent to nine different communities. “Our role was to provide classroom support at the local school, one-on-one mentoring in literacy and numeracy, and supervising the before and after school sports program.”

“我被分配到高中生，帮助他们数学。这是幸运的，因为数学可能是我的力量！我花了五天一对一指导学生，我们还在课堂外面进行了有趣的活动，专注于主题“我的心”。

Back to school

Aimee is full of praise for the staff at the remote school. “It’s different to school as you or I might know it. The teachers have to be flexible, adjusting the lessons depending on how many kids are there and how engaged they are. It was an eye-opening experience.”

The kids look forward to each visit from NASCA volunteers. Three times a year, NASCA brings a different learning experience to these remote communities with activities designed to maintain the kids’ interest while also encouraging them to learn. “The orange NASCA shirt means a lot to them. It represents continuity and they get excited whenever they see it, regardless of who’s wearing it.”

家庭，爱和信任

Aimee describes her NASCA Remote Program experience in three words: family, love and trust. One moment in particular sums-up all three:

“We were having a community barbecue after school with activities that included face-painting. One of the young mothers wanted her baby’s face painted. The kids surrounded us, watching, but of course the baby didn’t like it. She was crying, but all the kids gathered around and tried to comfort the baby and her mother, being very supportive. The sense of kinship in the community is huge. It was great to feel part of the community for that one week, but it’s also the continuous presence and support that NASCA brings into these communities that is really having the impact.”

The opportunity

Aimee can’t help but be struck by the idea that Australians generally love traveling and exploring different cultures and we’ve been given a huge opportunity, having one of the most interesting and oldest cultures in our own backyard. “There is so much we can learn from Indigenous culture, such as the importance of family, their community and their knowledge of the country. Developing a deeper understanding will improve our connection with Indigenous people. I’m proud that Viva Energy recognises this and is taking positive steps through the programs we support and also through our Reconciliation Action Plan.”

* Aimee Ilano于2019年志愿与Nasca志愿者。由于Covid-19限制，NASCA的远程计划暂时关闭2020年志愿者。