Eight Goulburn teens will tackle Papua New Guinea’s Kokoda Trail next month as part of a youth mentoring program with Goulburn Mulwaree Council.
Council says the participants – who range in age from 14 to 19 – come from a range of backgrounds including “low socio-economic circumstances, trauma, and those of future leaders”.
Preparations for the strenuous hike started early this year with support by mentors Luke Wallace and Anna Wishart from Council’s Youth Service Team, along with Senior Constable Barb Beard – Youth Officer for the NSW Police Hume District.
“Kokoda will be a life changing experience for all participants with each one having different
experiences or their take on the challenge,” said Senior Constable Beard.
“Not all the participants were known to each other at the start of the program. The first thing to impress me was how quickly they appeared to accept one another despite the very different personalities. This has continued to grow throughout the program. They are learning that there will be times we will need to help each other. Not everybody will have a great day every day, as evidenced on some of our training treks.
“The desired outcome I would like for each participant is for them to know that there will not be any situation in their lives that they will not be able to overcome no matter how big or small and to realise we need to sometimes ask for help through some of those hard times,” she said.
The trek is part of a 20-week programme of mental and physical training sponsored by the Terry Campese Foundation through Goulburn Mulwaree Council’s Youth Services.