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View all programs From the frontline: Principal shares tales of struggle and triumph
05 April 2021
It can be hard to imagine, in a country like Australia, that one in six children and young people are growing up in poverty. But high school principal, Christine, has seen countless families plunged into financial hardship and knows that the problem is very real. “I’ve seen many single parent families who, if they lose their job, become extremely vulnerable very quickly,” she says. “Other families live constantly on the edge, pay-to-pay. And families who are of refugee background often struggle with language barriers to find employment.”
One student whom she will never forget, is now a highly successful businesswoman. She moved with her family from Lebanon as a young girl. Her father had just started a business when her mother died suddenly. The student was only 12 years old when she had to take on huge responsibility.
“She had to work in the family shop all the way through secondary schooling,” says Christine. “The shop couldn't sustain itself unless the family continued to work. But she also stepped into the role of running the household and helping raise her brothers. It meant there was little time left for her to simply enjoy her childhood. And she described to me some years later that school became her ‘safe place’, where she could be herself.”
“She had to work in the family shop all the way through secondary schooling,” says Christine. “The shop couldn't sustain itself unless the family continued to work. But she also stepped into the role of running the household and helping raise her brothers. It meant there was little time left for her to simply enjoy her childhood. And she described to me some years later that school became her ‘safe place’, where she could be herself.”
Christine has seen first-hand the difference that organisations like The Smith Family make to the lives of families who are struggling. “Schools are doing a great job. But schools can't do it alone. And The Smith Family's work is particularly critical for the most disadvantaged kids,” she explains.
“I’ve seen a student get a pair of soccer boots because of your help — that's a huge difference. And for the first time, they can play a sport they love. Or the student that was able to go on an excursion for the first time and called it ‘the best day of his life’ because he’d never been outside his suburb. So many parents reflect later that sponsorship was the thing that turned around their child’s attitude about schooling, by being able to participate in things they had not been able to do before. Sponsorship really is an amazing gift.”
“I’ve seen a student get a pair of soccer boots because of your help — that's a huge difference. And for the first time, they can play a sport they love. Or the student that was able to go on an excursion for the first time and called it ‘the best day of his life’ because he’d never been outside his suburb. So many parents reflect later that sponsorship was the thing that turned around their child’s attitude about schooling, by being able to participate in things they had not been able to do before. Sponsorship really is an amazing gift.”
Read more student and family stories in our Autumn 2021 edition of Real People, Real Stories.
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