So here we are at Woolaning Homeland Christian College (WHCC), about 120km from Darwin. After a flight cancellation due to cyclone activity in Darwin and eleven hour stay in the airport before we got in the air, torrential rain on the road from Darwin to the school, and divine appointments at a deserted campground near Wangi Falls, we got here early Wednesday morning.
WHCC is a miracle, quite literally. It’s a government-funded Christian school.
Stop choking on your own tongue, because I speak truth. In a place where the government doesn’t fund it, it’s happening.
The facilities here are far better than anyone expected. The government just finished a new classroom building in addition to the several already peppered across campus, and is in the process of constructing more housing. When that’s done, another ten or so spots will open up.
About fifty students attend and live on the school site, along with a vast majority of the faculty and staff.
The students are all Aboriginal, coming from various communities around the Northern Territory (the closest being a 45 minute drive away).
I haven’t heard any of their stories from them, but my heart breaks for the vague ones the staff has shared.
Abuse. Drugs. Sex. Alcohol.
They live in a culture where objects have no real value, where reaching the age of manhood (about 15) means women have no authority or value.
Where American newcomers are fascinating, but their authority is minimal.
Life expectancy is about 50, and the average Aboriginal Christian is older than that because they haven’t figured out yet how to reach out to the next generation and disciple them. Christianity is the grey-haired (older generation) thing, not anything for the younger ones.
One of our contacts here in NT has estimated that Christianity will die amongst Aborigines in this area in the next few years if something doesn’t change.
I guess the closest description of what WHCC functions as is an alternative & vocational high school combined.
Students here – for whatever reason – haven’t received any real kind of education, and are playing catch up.
WHCC teaches them as much as they can (about God and otherwise), and provides job training so when the students finish here, they can go home and not have to fall back into the same old problems waiting for them there.
Ten seniors will be finishing up at the end of the school year, and it’s the largest class WHCC has had so far.
(to be continued…)
