Daroo Morris – ABC Heywire winner!

Daroo’s journey of becoming an ABC Heywire winner began in August 2016 when I was his Aboriginal Studies teacher. Daroo demonstrated a strong connection to his Aboriginal culture through his ability to passionately communicate his vast knowledge. He also asked relevant questions about racism, stereotypes and various events in the past to enhance his understanding of these issues impact on Aboriginal people today.

Daroo became particularly challenged by a situation at school in which he was asked why Aboriginal students receive more help than others. This was his opportunity to voice his knowledge in a way that helped bridge the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people; an opportunity to educate from the heart rather than react negatively with anger and frustration. I believe he did a great job of this and helped others understand what disadvantage really means and how it is deeply connected to the past.

The ABC’s Heywire competition was something I had known about for years. It’s all about connecting with youth from regional areas across Australia. They are asked to tell their story about what life’s like in their area. I had regularly mentioned it to many students over the years, but when I mentioned it to Daroo, he said, “Sure, let’s give it go!” We looked up all the details and talked about some topics. He was keen, although, as always, kept his ever so ‘cool’ nature!

I spoke with Daroo’s ‘Nan’ (carer), Pam, to gain permission and she was more than happy to help. Daroo spent time gathering personal photos, school reports, trophies and ribbons for me to photograph to make his ‘animation/slideshow’. With the help of his good friend, Jayden Boorer, Daroo downloaded suitable background music which was acknowledged at the end of the animation. Jayden also helped Daroo with the recording of the audio called ‘My Story’ which played across his animation.

Daroo recorded the audio as he watched the images. His story was about his life and how “no matter how hard life is, if you have one person to help ... you can achieve anything”. As we watched the final version on the big smartboard screen before submitting it on the day the competition closed, I was quite emotional seeing the end product; it was passionate, raw and spoken straight from Daroo’s heart. I told him it was “really great” but that there are entries from all across Australia, so not to get too excited about winning.

We then had two weeks of school holidays. On the first day back Daroo came to me to tell me that the Heywire people had contacted him, but he couldn’t announce that he was a winner until later. I was overwhelmed with joy but I felt a little cautious about why it had to be kept quiet. Once I got onto the correct person at the ABC, and our Principal, Daryl Irvine had received confirmation himself, it became real. Daroo’s story had connected with the ABC Heywire crew as he does naturally with many people. He was announced as one of 40 regional winners, officially, on 16 December 2016.

http://www.abc.net.au/heywire/stories/2016/12/4584296.htm#.WJFW3mf7W1s

Daroo’s achievement made front page news in the Manning River Times.http://www.manningrivertimes.com.au/story/4358720/our-ambassador/

Prior to the announcement, Daroo and I spent time preparing for the local ABC radio to visit our school to record his story. This was aired on the local ABC radio in line with the announcement of all winners in December.

Soon after the announcement, the ABC confirmed flights and other details of what was next.

And here we are, as Daroo is about to embark on that next stage of his Heywire journey. He leaves for Canberra early on Saturday 4th February. The ABC all expenses paid trip includes accommodation at the Australian Institute of Sport, workshops with other regional Heywire winners and a visit to Parliament. At parliament the youth will be presenting their ideas on how to improve opportunities for people in regional Australia, called the ‘Heywire Ideas Launch’ from 11am on Thursday 9th February.

Tune in to a live stream of ABC Radio National’s Life Matters from Parliament House on Wednesday 8 February, looking at education in regional Australia. Follow ABC Heywire on Facebook to keep up-to-date.

For more information about the summit visit: http://www.abc.net.au/heywire/summit/

We are looking forward to hearing all about it….

Stay tuned!

You can view Daroo’s original entry (animation) here> http://www.abc.net.au/heywire/entries/entry.htm?key=ABC.Heywire-2017-entry-148048177849492033#.WJFUW2f7W1t

Belinda Christensen

HSIE Teacher/ILC Coordinator

Chatham High School