NASCA hopeful for 2022 bounce-back

The National Aboriginal Sporting Chance Academy (NASCA) is excited to bounce back in 2022 better than ever according to its National Program Director during a recent tour of regional NSW.

As an organisation that designs a lot of its education support programs around physical activity and cultural engagement, NASCA has – like countless others – been hindered by ongoing COVID-19 restrictions until now.

NASCA Program Lead at Coonamble High School Nina Sands said her local branch has been operating under restrictions since it began in Term 2 of 2021, however, it was picking up momentum in the new year.

“Capacity (in the program) is 65 girls – we’re currently up to 45 enrolments so far this year which is more than what we had last year,” Ms Sands said.

“COVID has disrupted things a lot, just like it has for everybody. It’s meant that we haven’t been able to leave the school, or go on excursions – we missed out on a Youth Leadership Summit in Sydney (last year) which was really disappointing.

“Hopefully, that will change – (the summit) was postponed so hopefully that’ll happen this year.

“I’m also very passionate about community engagement, so I really want to get out in the community and bring it into the school, so the girls get to interact with (local) elders.”

Ms Sands also hoped 2022 presented the opportunity for the schools and fellow youth organisations in the Coonamble area to learn more about NASCA and what it has to offer, and vice versa.

NASCA National Program Director Skye Parsons and NSW Program Director Blake Borgia met many Coonamble youths, and representatives from local organisations regularly working with them, at the Railway Street youth centre on Tuesday 22 February.

The afternoon was full of activities for the children, including basketball, arts and crafts and gaming, as well as a free barbecue courtesy of the local Rotary Club.

Ms Parsons said she was grateful to personally hear about the work the Coonamble NASCA team was doing on the ground to make sure it was offering maximum opportunities for local young women.

“Community engagement and community events are so important for NASCA because we are 100 percent governed and led by Aboriginal people,” Ms Parsons said.

“We know that involving community in decision-making and knowing who we are is a huge piece of the puzzle in terms of working alongside their young people.

“NASCA’s only been here for three terms but I think 2022 is a really exciting time for us as we’re starting to ease restrictions. We’re really excited about the opportunities for young people in Coonamble and at our other locations.”

According to Ms Parsons, NASCA currently works with 16 schools across urban and regional NSW, including the local high schools in Coonamble and Narromine, and was currently investigating other opportunities to expand into new schools located in western NSW during their tour.

“It’s really exciting because we know that programs like ours work in terms of school engagement and school attendance for young people, especially young Aboriginal people,” she said.

“The difference with NASCA is that we have culture at the centre of everything – many studies show and prove that without our kids having a sense of identity and belonging, then they can’t thrive. It’s really important, and that’s why we do the work we do.”

This story was originally published in The Western Plains App.