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12th grader Jeanne Munyonge never felt like she fully belonged while being educated in an Australian school.
“I just feel like an outsider, especially as I was the only African girl at school, basically like my grade,” Munyonge says.
And it took some time for the young woman to find a group of people she had become good friends with at school.
“I feel like I kept going back and forth with people trying to find out if I fit in here, or if I fit there,” Mnyonge says.
And Munyonge isn’t the only one who has had to endure this situation.
The Ubuntu Project, a multicultural advocacy group, conducted a survey of 100 Afro-Australian students in Victoria.
Nearly all 91% said they struggled with racism at school.
Researchers in South Australia are now trying to come up with a solution to this problem to help future students by providing them with the right tools.
They want to raise awareness of the issue among teachers and staff alike.
“What makes them find a sense of belonging, bring it into their schools, and consider how the voices and experiences of these young people can help shape school activities and improve their sense of belonging? said a senior lecturer at the University of South Australia. Melanie Burke Dr.
Baak’s project will be funded with the help of the Australian Research Council and the University of South Australia, which provides scholarships for the programme.
This means that young African Australians can be employed by Baak to make a valuable contribution to research.
“This will be the first opportunity for the African diaspora to hear directly from the Ministry of Education about their needs and desires,” says Viol Ager of the Youth Reference Group.
“Otherwise, these children will not only turn their backs on themselves, they will turn their backs on the society they thought they belonged to,” said another member of the Youth Reference Group. adds Gabriel Akon, who is
For Munyonge, it is important that students with African heritage speak up to help others in the future.
she said: They don’t have to struggle like we struggled. ”
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