WHEN you take a 21-year-old Applecross university student to the rugged Kimberley outback to work in remote communities, it is little wonder he describes the experience as eye opening.
Sports science student Allister Gomes made the trip as part of an innovative internship organised by the McCusker Centre for Citizenship at UWA.
Mr Gomes undertook the internship with an organisation called Fair Game, which aims to promote better health and fitness through sport to young people.
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READ NOWDuring a week away Mr Gomes worked from a base in Fitzroy Crossing to visit remote communities at Muludja and Bayulu where he helped run games and activities designed to create better awareness of oral, foot, ear and hand hygiene as well as nutrition.
Fair Game also collects and redistributes recycled sports equipment such as balls, shoes and bags.
“I found it profoundly rewarding to watch as gear, which would otherwise go untouched, found a new home where it will be cherished and made useful again,” Mr Gomes said.
“It’s quite remarkable to think that only a week spent in the service of others, while surrounded by like-minded people, can produce such a surge of positivity.”
Mr Gomes is one of more than 130 UWA students to participate in an internship with the McCusker Centre for Citizenship over the past year across Australia.
Students can earn credit towards their courses by undertaking an internship with organisations, like Fair Game, which work predominantly in the not-for-profit and community sectors to make a difference in our community.