Our Awesome project is facilitating the first Operation Flinders team for Goolwa Secondary College! There are 10 young women from Alexandrina Region who will be directly impacted by this experience.

The girls, accompanied by 2 school staff will travel to ‘Yankaninna Station’ in the Flinders Ranges, to hike as a team and camp out for 7 nights. They will walk many kilometres over different terrain, work as a team, complete challenges and experience the difficult moments of being in the outdoors - like carrying a heavy backpack, rocks, prickles, blisters, camp toilets etc. They will also experience the wonderful moments of the outdoors - like summiting mountains, watching beautiful sunrises/ sunsets and seeing native animals in a remote setting! Teams also have the chance to participate in either an abseil or high ropes experience whilst in the Flinders Ranges.

We expect that this experience will bring about increased confidence and belief in self, for these young people. They will have an immersive experience while working as a team, learning about empathy, compassion, leadership, outdoor skills and emotional awareness. We expect that these young people will come back to their homes in Alexandrina as changed young women with more direction, more patience and understanding for themselves and others and a different attitude of success to frame future challenges they encounter. We believe that this journey will have a positive difference to their families and wider community also as they seek to connect, learn and support their peers at school with their additional confidence and leadership. Furthermore, participating in this experience allows these young people to be connected with ongoing activities and training provided by Operation Flinders, and opens more doors for development of skills and future employment.

Thankyou for your consideration to bring Awesome into the lives of these young people in the Fleurieu!