Palms Australia is answering the Church’s call for charity to our neighbours – over the coming months, team members will depart for Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste, Kiribati, and South Africa to provide two years of professional skill development for staff at local community organisations.
On Sunday 14 July, the organisation concluded its 102nd orientation course and welcomed seven Australians to Palms Australia’s international development programme.
Patsy-Anne Wootton, from Perth, joins Bridget Kennelly and Sue Bartlett in Kiribati, where she will assist I-Kiribati teachers on the remote island of Abaiang in English language tuition.
While English is the official language of instruction and assessment for students in Kiribati, many children complete early years of education in local dialects.
In remote areas, including Abaiang, this challenge is exacerbated as skilled English teachers often relocate to better paying positions in the government or private sector in the capital, South Tarawa.
Patsy-Anne’s support will improve delivery of English language classes, build staff confidence in teaching in English and improve student performance in assessment.
Perth physiotherapist Laura Saldanha will soon complete her one-year placement with the Ruben Centre in Nairobi, Kenya.
Laura has been working alongside local occupational therapist, Fredrick Mitieng, in growing the organisation’s capacity for outreach, enabling the Centre to make physiotherapy services accessible to disadvantaged neighbourhoods.
Following Laura’s departure in August this year, her role will be adopted by a Kenyan paediatric physiotherapist.
Palms Australia’s orientation course is a comprehensive programme of cross-cultural training and volunteer preparation.
The course equips participants with the best available tools and perspectives to be an effective mentor for the communities who have requested their unique skill set.
The next orientation course is scheduled for January 2019.
For more information on the work Palms is supporting in the