From the red earth of WA to the wooden floorboards of OPH, these kids are experiencing Canberra for the first time

详细摘要

They will be starring in the Stromlo Running Festival on Sunday

At the Warlawurru Catholic School in remote Western Australia, there are 50 students from kindergarten to year 6, the playgrounds are surrounded by the red dust of the desert and the very first classes were conducted nearly 40 years ago under a bough shed made from gum trees and spinifex by the local Aboriginal community.

Three plane rides later, six students from the school near Halls Creek have landed in Canberra, eyes wide open as they visit the national capital for the first time.

They are among 58 First Nations students from Western Australia, Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory who have been invited to Canberra by marathon man Robert de Castella and his Indigenous Marathon Foundation.

The children, aged from 9 to 13, are taking part in a week of educational and cultural experiences, culminating in the 2.5-kilometre Kids' Fun Run at the Stromlo Running Festival on Sunday.

On Friday, they visited the National Electoral Education Centre at Old Parliament House, Parliament House and Questacon.

The Indigenous Marathon Foundation supports the I-CAN (Indigenous Communities for Activity and Nutrition) program which operates in remote primary schools across Australia to boost school attendance, tackle inactivity, and promote health and pride.

I-CAN officer Xavier Moloney said the students were chosen from some of the most remote communities in Australia based on school attendance and positive behaviour.

"They all come from different time zones, so they're just adjusting to that," Mr Moloney said.

Mr Moloney said some children in the I-CAN program might one day progress to the Indigenous Marathon Foundation's Indigenous Marathon Program, training young adult Indigenous people to take part in the New York Marathon.

文章开头，摘自The Canberra Times。如需阅读全文，请前往媒体网站。