Sixteen-year-old Esther has been honoured for her efforts to promote inclusion through her social club at the inaugural Together for Humanity (TFH) National Awards for Intercultural Excellence.
The year 10 student at Emmanuel College started the social club over two years with the help of her friends and teacher Winnie Koth, setting out to create an environment where all the school’s cultures could congregate.
The social club, that is open to anyone at the school, facilitates intercultural communication that sees discussions include anything from caring from different hair types to trading study tips.
Esther’s vision was not born in a vacuum, herself starting life in Australia as a refugee.
Emigrating from Zambia with her family as a young child, she lived through the challenges that starting a life in a new country brings.
“I struggled a little bit to connect with people, so I want to make it easier for other people,“ Esther said.
“Learning the language was pretty easy, but making friends was the hardest part.”
Now bringing people together, she said “honestly, I wasn’t expecting it and I was really shocked”, when her win was announced.
Her desire to help others is evident in some of her future aspirations.
“I want to be a teacher or a lawyer to help people – I like helping people a lot,“ she said.
The impact of the social club is far from confined to the school itself, with the friendships and connections extending to extracurricular activities outside of the classroom.
TFH presented the awards based on their ethos of fostering a more cohesive, inclusive society free of racism and prejudice, where all young people feel they belong.
Jaidyn Kennedy
