Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

) ( ): Speaking positively in a grievance debate is always terrific. It is with great pleasure that speak today about a great program in our community run by the Beenleigh PCYC, which has been the No. 1 PCYC in Queensland for the past number of years. The program is called the Two Tribes program. Two Tribes stands for Together We Obtain Trust, Respect, Inspiration, Belief, Enthusiasm and Support. The program is about assisting young asylum seekers and refugees who are finding difficulty assimilating into the Australian culture. It teaches self-belief through art workshops and encourages a trusting relationship with the police. My thanks go to Sergeant Mark Haestier, the CEO of the Beenleigh PCYC, and Angel Goodfellow, who, essentially, runs the program. Both have done a tremendous job with this program.

On Friday I had the opportunity to drop in and catch up with the latest participants and see their progress. On Friday they were finishing off painting their torso models. The objective of the torso model is to create a piece of art that reflects how they see themselves and also the journey that they have been on over the past six weeks. Sergeant Haestier and Angel are the driving forces behind the success of this Two Tribes program. It is through his role of engaging with local schools in the Beenleigh region that he discovered that not everyone found it easy to make friends and feel a sense of belonging. Visiting a number of schools, in particular around Beenleigh and Eagleby, Mark noticed a little African boy playing on his own. On another occasion, he saw an Indian girl who was not confident enough to join in with the other girls. He asked them why they were not playing with the other kids and both children said it was hard to make friends. From this Mark realised that there needed to be more support to give these children the confidence they needed to make friends and find a sense of belonging. Working with program facilitator Angel Goodfellow, Two Tribes was started, and the first group involved a number of high school kids who had been refugees and asylum seekers before settling in Australia. Many of them had come from war-torn Middle Eastern backgrounds, and they had faced many difficulties in life before moving to Australia with their families, or in some cases without their families.

The six-week program begins with a team-building exercise where Mark takes the students to an outdoor activity adventure facility to help build a trusting relationship with the students. Where many of these children come from, they identify police and uniforms with corruption, and changing that perception is a valuable and important beginning. The six-week program is a full 9 am to 3 pm day on a Friday, and the students take part in art workshops to help express who they are, to break down their fears and their struggles, to help them see clearly who they really are and to build a sense of pride and confidence. Every student who takes part in the Two Tribes program has faced different barriers. For the majority of them, it starts with simple things such as speech and language. For many of these kids, they are often the only person in their household who can speak English. This means that they are often the ones left dealing with housing, Centrelink, education and other family matters. Dealing with these things when their family cannot speak English puts an enormous amount of pressure on these kids, who are so young, and it can make them feel quite isolated.

The Two Tribes program began in 2011, and since then Mark and the team at the Beenleigh PCYC have held six programs, helping some 45 students from the region. Following the program, Mark has received feedback from teachers of local schools who have noticed a tremendous change in their students. One particular comment Mark received from a teacher summed up the success of the program. The teacher said, 'You have removed the cork from his waterfall, and now the river runs freely.'

Every student who has taken part in the Two Tribes program walks away feeling confident, ready to engage with their peers and proud of their refugee heritage. It has been a positive experience for them and they have a new-found sense of belonging. When I visited the Two Tribes program on Friday there was quite an emotional moment with one of the participants, who had a breakthrough and finally felt comfortable to open up about his struggles. It was not only an important moment for him as he works through the program but also an emotional time for Mark and the team who help these kids every day.

There is no doubt as to how these students fare following the Two Tribes program. I was lucky enough to meet two past participants who also dropped in on Friday. One young girl, who was one of the first to take part in the program, dropped in to tell everyone that she was weeks away from completing her nursing degree and to say thank you. Another former Two Tribes participant dropped in to say hello. He is currently a trainee youth worker at Beenleigh State High School. Mark said everyone who has been through the Two Tribes program comes back to visit and many of them are actively involved in the PCYC, being engaged in open days and various youth events.

I have had the privilege of visiting the Two Tribes program on a number of occasions. I never cease to be amazed by the fantastic achievement of the Beenleigh PCYC and those who are running the program and assisting the young people in our community. I take this opportunity to acknowledge the tremendous work of Sergeant Mark Haestier, who is so passionate about his community and helping to change the lives of vulnerable young people. I also acknowledge the efforts of all the volunteers and the youth connected to the Two Tribes program. You go above and beyond to deliver a program that is helping our region's young refugees and asylum seekers. You are turning their isolation and hardships into a positive experience, and they are walking away with a sense of belonging, friendship and trust and a true appreciation of the country they now live in and of the people who are willing to help them. With more than 63 per cent of migrant couples who come to Australia having dependent children, programs like this are so important to helping these young people feel welcome and part of the Australian community.

As well as visiting the Two Tribes program, I had the opportunity to attend a number of other community events over the weekend. I will quickly mention them in the time remaining. Shailer Park State School hosted their annual art show and art auction on Friday night. My congratulations to acting principal Julie Canham and all the staff for a tremendous job but also to all the students for the fantastic artwork that they completed and that was part of both the exhibition and the auction. It was a wonderful evening, and I thank the school and year 1 teacher Barbara O'Brien for inviting me along, and also Ian Maurice for conducting the auction. There was certainly no lack of fun things to do over the weekend in Forde. On Saturday I had the pleasure of attending the Eagleby Community Centre open day and the Bethania Community Centre fun day. Both events offered fantastic fun for families and children alike, with a variety of activities and entertainment. It was also a great opportunity for residents to find out about the services these terrific organisations offer. Congratulations to Mim and Andrew Hopkins and their team for the work they put into organising the Bethania Community Centre family fun day, and congratulations to Vanessa Disket and the team for organising the Eagleby Community Centre open day. In addition, thanks to Jim Ferguson and the team at Logan SES for all the wonderful work they do and their wonderful fundraising efforts for Beyond Blue this year at the Logan SES Blue and Orange Ball. It was a terrific example of community spirit and of various organisations working together to support each other. In attending so many wonderful events over the one weekend in Forde I saw what a compassionate, caring and hardworking community we have. There are so many dedicated people supporting and helping others. I am proud and pleased to be able to acknowledge their efforts in this place.