By Rachel Curry
Santa Maria College has proudly celebrated a decade since it began its Punmu Immersion trip to the heart of the Pilbara.
A small group of staff and Year 11 students travel each year to the remote Aboriginal community of Punmu, 650km east of Port Hedland, where they spend a week interacting with the Martu people and working closely with the Rawa Community School.
Three staff members and 12 students attended the latest trip in June, marking 10 years of the partnership between Santa Maria College and the Punmu Community.
Santa Maria’s Punmu Co-ordinator, Benjamin Court, said it was a wonderful achievement for everyone involved.
“It is a really special milestone to reach for the college and the students all feel extremely privileged to be the 10th group to complete the immersion,” he said.
“While programs like this are a lot more common now, there are not many Australian secondary schools who have been doing it for 10 years. We are really proud of the work we have done and the close partnership we have developed with the school and community.”
Mr Court said the staff and students participated in meaningful work in Punmu, such as gardening, painting, cleaning and reorganising classrooms and storerooms, running sport activities and helping with lessons.
“We also get to be involved in cultural activities including hunting, camping out, learning about language and many other things,” he said.
“The program endeavours to foster a respect for the people, history and cultures present in remote Indigenous communities; a recognition of God’s presence in the lives and cultures of people they encounter; and a willingness to be challenged personally by the stories, experiences and relationships that are encountered on the journey.”
Mr Court also spoke about the lasting impression the trip had made on Santa Maria students over the past decade.
“Students who have had the privilege of going on the Punmu Immersion are deeply affected by the experience, with many going on to pursue work and study in the areas of Indigenous welfare and education. It is certainly something that stays with them long into the future,” he said.
At the end of this year’s trip, the Punmu Community presented Santa Maria staff and students with a handwoven grass bowl, while the Rawa Community School gave them a framed print of an Aboriginal painting of the Martu lands.