Ever wanted to learn African Drumming, the benefits of Raw Food, Street Orienteering or how to Declutter Your Life the Japanese Mindfulness way? These are a few of the diverse range of one-off, fun, short, affordable (around $10) courses available through the exciting new Geelong initiative, ‘Life Learning’. We hear from one of the organisers, Noreen Nicholson. ‘We were inspired by the ‘Brooklyn Brainely’ courses that have been running in New York for years and the ‘Laneway Learning’ version that started about 2011 in Melbourne.
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Christ Church Community Meals, Jan
‘The number of fellows living in their cars who say they never expected to find themselves in this place! Our mantra is “it’s not just about the food” because the way people are treated with respect is just as important.’ Jan McGowan tells us about the Christ Church Community Meals Program. ‘I grew up in East Geelong. Mum was a teacher. I went on to become a teacher myself, teaching all around Geelong and loving every minute of it. I gave up teaching to do this. Out of the blue, last year I received an OAM. I love working with like-minded people who are willing to go the extra mile.’
OneCare, Corrie
‘We witnessed a lot of inequity and separation. That’s why OneCare was established seven years ago with the purpose of creating links across communities. Our motto is ‘building community, restoring hope, changing lives’. We are located in Geelong West and people are happy to come from all over Geelong.’ I’m talking to Corrie Inei.
‘At noon on Thursdays we hold a community meal which is open to anyone. Some appreciate the free meal, others appreciate the social contact. We get around 60 each week and had 110 for our Christmas lunch on the Thursday before Christmas. The people who come are mostly individuals, ranging from recent arrivals to those with mental health issues. The group has become like a family and they all look out for each other.
The Smith Family, Brad
Brad Roylance tells us how the @Smith Family supports education in Geelong.
What do the Smith Family Do?
In Geelong our role is to support Northern Bay P-12 College and the 3214 community by offering 600 educational scholarships and programs, to families from low income backgrounds that are referred to us by the school.
The scholarship funds are mainly use for extra-curricular activities that students are interested in, and those that parents might not normally be able to afford. Typically, a scholarship might be used to support learning through things like music lessons or instrument hire, school sport, school camps, study camps or sessions and other school activities such as drama events.
Hero Town, Sylvia and Karli
‘Training everyday heroes.’ Hero Town Geelong believes every ordinary person has the power to do extraordinary things. ‘Too often knowledge sits in publications, practically unused. Hero Town delivers workshops based on psychology research, most notably that of Social Psychology , Dr Philip Zimbardo.’ We hear from its Founder and President, Sylvia Gray, and Karli Mynott (Learning and Resource Coordinator).
‘After the controversial Stanford Prison Experiment,’ (the experiments findings have since been called in to question) explains Sylvia, ‘Dr Zimbardo understood how easy it is to create environments that cause good people to do bad things. He’s since devoted his life to fostering heroic behaviour. We are extremely grateful to count him as one of our advisors.’
Assistant Governor of Rotary, Kathy
‘One experience that resonates with me was visiting mud huts by the side of the track in South Korea- the people were so lovely they would have given us their last potato.’ I’m interviewing Kathy Ryan, Assistant Governor of Geelong’s Rotary District 9780 Group 9. ‘I was born in the US and in the 60s I studied Sociology. Soon after I found myself in South Korea working for the Peace Corps. We were living with the locals out in the countryside, looking for tuberculosis cases to help eradicate this horrific disease. We’d ask them if they got the night sweats or other symptoms and, if so, get them tested. It was a wonderfully life changing experience that set me on my way.
‘I’ve been back to South Korea a couple of times recently, including for the International Rotary Conference, and I’ve seen such big changes there. Now they are sending volunteers all over the world and taking in refugees from Myanmar.
SPAN, Lisa
17 year old Geelong teenager, Shaun, committed suicide in January 2009. His mum, Lisa Castle, vowed his death would not be in vain. She formed SPAN (Suicide Prevention Awareness Network) made up of people affected by suicide, concerned community members and health professionals who decided to work together to try to reduce the number of lives lost.
SPAN’s annual SUICIDE AWARENESS WALK, now in its 8th year, will be held on Australia Day, Jan 26, from Johnstone Park, Gheringhap St Geelong at 9.30. http://www.spangeelong.com It is a positive, active community event where people can come together and pay tribute to lost loved ones, offer support to those hurting and ultimately embrace the gift of life.
Leisure Networks, Libby
Leisure Networks’ aim is similar to Humans in Geelong. It is all about connecting people with their community. I interviewed Libby Mears, CEO of Leisure Networks, at Sports House. ‘My three children were young when we decided to relocate from Melbourne to Airey’s Inlet. We wanted to bring our children up in a small community. I went from President of the local Kindergarten to holding the position of Mayor of the Surf Coast Shire Council. It was through this position at local council that I saw how important it is to build strong communities.
Geelong Sustainability, Vicki
Geelong Sustainability’s vision is for a world in which people everywhere can enjoy happy, healthy lives within the natural limits of the planet and in harmonious co-existence with wildlife and wilderness: ‘We believe our consumerist society is undermining the planet’s ability to regenerate itself and exacerbating local and global inequalities.’
President Vicki Perrett’s mantra is that ‘less is more’ and she wants us to ‘be makers and doers not buyers and observers.’ Geelong born and bred, Vicki, joined the group in 2010.
Tango, Pam Jarvis
Learn Tango in Geelong. On hearing Astor Piazzolla’s ‘Zero Hour’ album in 1989, Pam & Richard Jarvis’s world changed. They were inspired to visit Buenos Aires, before the flood of tango tourism, returning frequently to study with chosen ‘maestros’, and dance with ‘milongueros’, tango’s traditional custodians.
They now share their knowledge and passion back in Geelong, teaching Community Tango in the unassuming Christ Church Hall. Hundreds of locals have learned to dance the authentic Argentine tango in their classes.
HuG 