Shalom College and The Shalom Institute are committed to community development which may take different forms, eg, reconciliation programs with Australia’s Indigenous population of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and social justice activities.

Shalom Gamarada Residential Scholarships for Indigenous Students

This program is a strong and eloquent contribution to our journey of reconciliation.

- Her Excellency, Professor Marie Bashir AC, Governor of New South Wales

The Name “Shalom Gamarada”

The name of the scholarship program and annual art exhibition that helps to fund it reflects the journey of Jewish and Aboriginal people together in Australia.

The name comes from the term Gamarada ngiyani yana in the Eora language and is translated literally as friends-walk-we or “We walk together as friends.”

Aboriginal Scholarships: A Rationale

To make a small contribution to address the poor state of Indigenous health and welfare in Australia, Shalom College at the University of New South Wales implemented a residential scholarship program in 2005 for Aboriginal medical students studying at the university.  In 2006, the program broadened to include additional medical and optometry students.

To date we have had a total of 11 Indigenous students in the program.

The college works together with members of the Indigenous staff of the Muru Marri Indigenous Health Unit (School of Public Health and Community Medicine, UNSW) and the Nura Gili Centre for Indigenous Programs at UNSW.

Many Indigenous students find it difficult to succeed at university because they:

• commonly come from deprived backgrounds – both educationally and socio-economically;

• often live far from campus and spend many hours a day travelling on public transport;

• generally have to find part-time work to help support themselves; and

• are seldom part of a “learning community” with friends and family members who have been or are engaged in higher education.

The Shalom Gamarada scholarship program addresses these problems by providing scholarships to Shalom College for Indigenous students.  In so doing, it alleviates financial constraints, eliminates time wasted on commuting, and places the students in a learning community with other students in their course of study and with tutoring and counselling support available.

The aim of the program is to increase the number of Aboriginal health and other professionals who will then help to improve the quality of life of indigenous Australians.

Professor Richard Henry (formerly from the Faculty of Medicine at UNSW) said of the scholarship program,

Our commitment must be to maximise the number of indigenous doctors in the workforce and this wonderful initiative will make all the difference between an Aboriginal student who struggles to pass and one who progresses steadily through the program.

According to the Australian Medical Association’s 2004 report on Indigenous Health:

Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders suffer from poor health, which in some respects is worse than the health of people in a number of Third World Countries.  They die younger, their children are sicker, and too many of their babies die at birth or are born with low bodyweight and chronic health conditions.  Doctors working in some communities say that the state of Indigenous health is worse than it has been for 20 years.  It is Australia’s national shame.

A former President of the Australian Medical Association, Dr Bill Glasson said that an increase in the number of Aboriginal doctors could make the single biggest difference to improving Indigenous health and enabling us to get out of the mess we are in.

Funding

The scholarship program is funded mainly from the proceeds from the annual Shalom Gamarada Art Exhibition (see http://www.shalomgamarada.org/).  In addition there are 4 other funded scholarships:

• one from the Gonski Foundation (David Gonski AC, Chancellor of the University of NSW is a important supporter of the program);

• one from Investec Bank (Australia) Limited; and

• two from private donors -
> the Diramu Indigenous Scholarship; and 
> the Sabina Ross Slater Memorial Medical Scholarship.

The Shalom Gamarada scholarship program is the result of collaboration between Shalom College, the Nura Gili Indigenous Programs at UNSW  and the Muru Marri Indigenous Health Unit, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, UNSW.

Stories of Our Scholarship Holders 2007

BETH KERVIN
Horningsea Park, NSW
Fourth year Medicine, UNSW

“I am an Aboriginal woman from outside of Liverpool, and my people are from Guyra. I have recently completed a year of research focusing on support for breastfeeding among mothers in south western Sydney, and I am now in my fourth year of Medicine.

“Being able to study medicine was a huge opportunity for me; I am serious about making a difference and feel privileged to be gaining skills to become a doctor.

“I hope to become a paediatrician and to work with, and give back to, my community. I’m committed to contributing to improving the health of Indigenous people in this country. I would also like to be a role model for other Indigenous people considering studying medicine.

“I was awarded a Shalom Gamarada Scholarship in 2005. This opportunity has been invaluable, and I am grateful beyond words.  This Scholarship means that I no longer have to travel for four hours a day to attend my classes, and am able to commit more time to my demanding studies.  I have always had the motivation to follow my dream to become a doctor and the Shalom Gamarada Scholarship has allowed me to make the dream a reality.”

JENNA OWEN
Dubbo, NSW
Second year Optometry, UNSW
First Aboriginal student ever to study Optometry

“Being an Indigenous student from a rural area, it would have been impossible for me to study Optometry having to live so far away from home because of the financial stress of accommodation, living expenses and travel costs. The Shalom Gamarada Scholarship has made my dream a reality.

“Helping others has always been a passion of mine and being an optometrist will give me the opportunity to improve the health of my Indigenous community. There are no other Aboriginal optometrists in this country.  The shortage of Indigenous health professionals makes the task of improving the health of our people more difficult – and that is why we need more Aboriginal doctors and optometrists.

“The elevated rate of illness among the Aboriginal population saddens me and many common illnesses, even diabetes, can be reduced through proper eye care. I hope to return to my community and provide the wider central-west of New South Wales with this desperately needed health service.

“Receiving the Shalom Gamarada Scholarship, and living here in Shalom College, has been an amazing experience for me. The cultural adjustment to studying and living in the city has been made smoother through the support I have had from friends at Shalom College.

“Education is such a vital tool in the development of a healthy future for Aboriginal communities. I am so proud and grateful to have the opportunity to achieve my goals through this scholarship and better serve my people.”

JOSEF MCDONALD
Newcastle, NSW
Third year Medicine, UNSW

“Receiving the Shalom Gamarada Scholarship has been a life-changing experience for me. Apart from the advantages it offers my studies, another great benefit of the program is that it offers a racism-free environment in which Indigenous students can live and discuss Indigenous issues and what it means to be Indigenous.

“I basically owe everything to the Shalom Gamarada Scholarship. Without it, it would be impossible for me to study medicine as there is no way my family could afford for me to live in Sydney.

“Currently, with the help of the scholarship, my grades are very respectable.  I have just started conducting research into antibiotic use in children and how we can slow the resistance of deadly micro-organisms to our most precious drugs.

“What gives me the greatest initiative whilst studying is the fact that upon graduation I can make a contribution to improving the health status of Indigenous Australians. This is a very daunting task because of the poor state of health of my people.  This fact is one of our country’s greatest tragedies.

“In this way, there is no substitute for Indigenous health professionals from the local community who are known and respected. This is why the Shalom Gamarada Scholarship is so important, it is providing Indigenous people with the opportunity for self-determination regarding their health outcomes.”

JESSICA WEBB
Coonellabah, NSW
First year Health Sciences, UNSW

“This scholarship has provided me with an environment that has helped my transition to university and a city lifestyle.  It has also given me the chance to dedicate myself to my studies, which otherwise isn’t available off campus.

“Eventually, when I graduate, I have two main goals, to improve Indigenous education and health.  Both are imperative components of a successful and healthy life which everyone deserves but don’t always have.  I want to help to eradicate this problem.

“Being from the country, I hope to return to resolve such problems there.”

CHRIS KERVIN
Horningsea Park, NSW
First year Medicine, UNSW

“I am an Aboriginal man from outside Liverpool, and my people are from Guyra.  In 2006, I completed the HSC, and I am this year studying the first year of my Bachelor of Medicine/ Bachelor of Surgery degree.

“Studying medicine has been a lifelong ambition of mine, and one that I have now been granted an opportunity to fulfil.  Hopefully practicing as a paediatrician, I want to make a considerable contribution to my community and people, by rectifying the major health disadvantages and inequalities facing Indigenous youths today.
 
“I am very grateful that I was fortunate enough to receive a Shalom Gamarada Scholarship at the beginning of this year, being the first year of my medical studies.  Having a secure and academically-supportive home to study, eat and sleep on the University campus, has made life much easier for me. This scholarship means that I do not have to travel for two hours every morning and another two hours every night from home to the Kensington campus, which is something that I am very appreciative of and thankful for.  It will most certainly assist towards my successful completion of the course, and in fulfilling my dream of becoming a doctor.”

BRENDAN PHILLIPS
Coffs Harbour, NSW
First year Medicine, UNSW

"I am a Gumbayngirr man from Coffs Harbour.  I am a first year Medicine student at UNSW, and proud Shalom College resident.
 
“When I found out that I got the Shalom Gamarada Scholarship I was ecstatic. I knew that I had a stable, secure, affordable place to live for the duration of my degree. Now that I don't have to worry about this, I can reach my potential and achieve in my degree. This Scholarship is more than a place to live however, it has given me the privilege to meet and learn from a great bunch of people around College."

Other Programs

Derech Eretz

Another community development / social justice program is called Derech Eretz (which literally means “the way of the land”, but the phrase also refers to decent behaviour / ethical conduct).  It is a long term Hillel Student Services - Aboriginal partnership between students and the impoverished Indigenous communities of Toomelah and Boggabilla (located on the New South Wales – Queensland border).

A small number of selected students travel to these communities during some university vacations to:

• work with and gainfully occupy the young Indigenous school children;
• arrange programs for kids in conjunction with the community centre;
• to meet communal elders and learn from them and of their community’s needs; etc.

The purpose of the program is to establish a long-term mutually beneficial relationship with this community and to provide support, particularly to its underprivileged children.

Other Charitable Programs

A number of Shalom College residents have participated in various other charitable programs, eg, Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity.  The latter is a not-for-profit, housing organisation which involves volunteers travelling to different parts of the Asia-Pacific region in a group to help build simple, affordable houses in partnership with low income families.