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We’re calling on compassionate people like you to take action for children facing isolation and social exclusion in remote Australia.

Bush Chaplains are reporting increasing distress in the outback, particularly among children.

We know that people in outback Australia are more isolated, but it’s not just by physical distance. Children are often more socially isolated, unable to have the friendship groups and access to social activities that children in the cities enjoy.

This combination of social isolation and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis means more and more outback kids are missing out on opportunities. These children need us – as a loving and caring community – to help bridge the gap.

Read the full report

Our plan of action

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Your support works

Child Social Exclusion

We know that when we make a difference in the life of a child, that difference has a deep and lasting impact. And when a child is denied opportunities, that also has a deep and lasting impact, narrowing their choices and potential.

A recent report from UnitingCare and the University of Canberra highlights just how much some children are missing out on opportunities.

The report found that nearly half the children living in regional communities face high or very high risk of social exclusion.

It’s the latest update on the Child Social Exclusion Index, which considers factors such as a child’s socio-economic situation, housing, health, connectedness (for example, does their parent have a car?), and community and environment (are there safe places to play?).

Rural Relief Education Program

We have an exciting and targeted plan to narrow the gap between haves and have-nots to give kids in rural areas more opportunities. But we need your help to make this plan a reality.

The Rural Educational Relief Program is an exclusive Frontier Services program that aims to provide targeted financial support to families struggling to meet the costs associated with their children’s education.

By giving towards the Rural Educational Relief Program, you’ll be helping families cover costs such as:

  • school uniforms,
  • excursions and school camps,
  • after-school activities such as swimming lessons, school sporting events,
  • and textbooks and stationery.

It’s a powerful way to change a child’s life. Give them the opportunity to be able to turn up to school in the right uniform, with the right books, and go on excursions like everyone else.

Your gift will help remove the brutal stigma of poverty, which has vast flow-on effects on their relationships and self-confidence.

Help reduce the barriers to an all-round education and help improve a child’s capacity to break the cycle of disadvantage and create a stronger economic future for themself.

The Relief Program is planned to operate across Kalgoorlie and Geraldton in Western Australia, Roma in Queensland, and Oodnadatta in South Australia, with plans to expand when funds have been raised.

$20,000

could fully fund the Rural Education Relief Program to directly help 150-200 students in Kalgoorlie, Geraldton, Roma, or Oodnadatta, giving them the same educational opportunities as their peers

$10,000

could buy uniforms, textbooks, and school supplies for as many as 40 children

$500

could help pay for 250 litres of fuel, so a Bush Chaplain can visit children and families on faraway properties

$100

could sponsor a school’s breakfast club to ensure two children in the bush can participate in school on a full stomach for a week

$50

could help buy books, educational toys, art activity sets, or musical instruments for one toddler or primary school child to support their mental development

Your support works.

Thanks to kind people like you, our Bush Chaplain could help contribute funds for the seven children of this tiny school to go on a school camp at an ecologically and culturally significant site.

Noah* is seven and lives in a small community 40 kilometres from the nearest town.

He also lives with a degenerative disorder. Already, his body doesn’t do what he wants it to do, and soon he will lose the ability to walk.

His school has only six other children, many of whom also have disabilities or learning difficulties. Their opportunities to see a world beyond their town were limited…

…until now.

 

* Name changed to protect privacy

School Principal Renae said:

“The learning that took place on this camp is not something that you could simulate in the classroom. It was all a hands-on experience. 

“Most of our kids had never been on a plane. They’d never been on a boat. So, that was a huge start!

“They saw native wildlife and whales, they connected to country, and they learned about First Nations’ history.”

 

She continued,

“We really wanted to give Noah, his family, and his classmates, the lifelong memories to be able to say, ‘I went on that school camp with my friends.’

“Making memories like this will last a lifetime!”

 

About our Bush Chaplain and Frontier Services supporters, she said,

“Our Bush Chaplain was this angel willing to help our little community and our school in any way they possibly can without being intrusive.

“They really have made a huge difference to the lives of the kids in our school.”