Photos: Supplied.
BY JIM WHITE, TRACTION COMMUNITY
Students from Wynnum State High School and Brisbane Bayside State College are participating in one of the hands-on, action-based programs run by local Queensland charity, TRACTION, which includes building bicycles, fixing motorbike engines and creating boomboxes from recycled e-waste.
Program founder, Sandy Murdoch, recognised that not all young people learn best in the classroom. With about twenty percent of Australians aged 15-24 disengaged from full-time education or work, he saw an opportunity to intervene early at 12-15 years, to prevent young people falling through the cracks.
“When given the opportunity to work closely with our mentors, on a project the students are genuinely invested in, the young person can experience a sense of achievement and a belief in themselves and in their future,” explained Jim White, TRACTION’s Bayside Regional Coordinator.
Since the program launched in 2015, it has supported over 600 young people in the Bayside region. With limited government funding, TRACTION relies on the ongoing support of the local community to deliver programs and keep up with growing demand.
To find out how to get involved by supporting, volunteering or participating in TRACTION, please check out traction.community online or contact Jim White at [email protected].
