Help Close the Gap in Indigenous Education

Education is the stepping-stone to a better life. Education allows us to go further and improve the lives of everyone around us. It is an almost universally accepted ideal that everyone should have the same right to an education, regardless of wealth or social standing. This is slowly becoming a reality in many countries. RiAus’ ASSETS program assists Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders with their educational needs in an attempt to bridge the gap between indigenous and mainstream education.

RiAus achieves this through a challenging science and technology program that builds and nurtures leadership qualities in students. Students are selected based on academic merit. The application process requires personal writing samples, teacher recommendations and copies of report cards, in addition to a written test.

In the above video, we meet Dannielle Ghezzi, one of the many success stories of RiAus’ ASSETS program. Dannielle now hopes to study post-graduate medicine because she wants to close the existing gap between indigenous and mainstream health care. She says this is largely thanks to the ASSETS program because it exposed her to an array of disciplines, both in the classroom and through field work.

RiAus’ campaign is seeking $5,000 for two students to participate in the ASSETS program. Funds will cover accommodation and flight costs for these lucky students. Help RiAus spread the word—like the campaign on Facebook, share on Twitter and consider contributing to a program that will help enrich the lives of students that need exposure to mainstream education. This campaign is ready to tip—let’s help bring it over the edge!

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Joe Donnellan

I have a BA in Public and Social Policy at NUI, Galway and have very recently relocated to Boston to live the American dream and to dive head first into the global community. I am still finding my feet here but I am trying to gain as much valuable experience as I possibly can. I enjoy the game that is politics and I also feel quite strongly about the subjects of genocide, human rights abuses and social exclusion. I love all manner of sport but have become more of an arm chair fan in recent year. My personal philosophy is that I want to leave everything in a better place than it was when I came in contact with it. You can follow me on twitter @joeydonn.