Photo By Cpl. Angel Serna | Aborigine football players, members of the Clontarf Foundation and Marines with 1st...... read more read more
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PALMERSTON, Australia – "From little things big things grow" - was the phrase printed on the jerseys of every Aboriginal student playing football under the smoldering sun. Each schoolboy sprinted up and down the Northline Oval with a football in hand attempting to score a goal each time in order to win the Clontarf Territory Cup.
Marines with Marine Rotational Force – Darwin, volunteered for the Clontarf Foundation during a football tournament May 9 at Charles Darwin University, Palmerston, Northern Territory, Australia.
“The Clontarf Foundation is an engagement program for indigenous young men to stay in school,” said Shaun Cusack, the northern regional manager for the Clontarf Foundation, from Alice Springs, NT. “Once they’ve completed all their schooling, we help them find employment opportunities.”
The foundation exists to improve the education, discipline, life skills, self-esteem and employment prospects of young Aboriginal men and by doing so equips them to participate meaningfully in society.
In order to help the Aboriginal students attend school and do well in classes, the foundation uses football as an incentive, said Daniel McNamee, the central regional manager for the Clontarf Foundation, another Alice Springs, NT, native. They have the opportunity to participate in tournaments and meet other students who are a part of the program from different areas.
This tournament was unique because the U.S. Marines were given the opportunity to interact with and meet the students. The Marines of MRF-D gave their part in the tournament by helping take photos of individual teams, encouraging players to give their all and passing out water to help the players stay hydrated.
“I think it’s pretty cool to just be a part of this,” said PFC Blake Palicki, a rifleman with Company A, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, MRF-D, from South Bend, Indiana. “It’s nice to just come out here and watch kids that work hard and have a passion to do something great.”
Marine community engagements in the Northern Territory are intended to add depth to their relationship with Australia.
“Having the Marines out here is fantastic,” said McNamee. “It’s possible to do all sorts of immersion type programs but to spend a day amongst the Aboriginal students and to get to know them is well worth it for the Marines.”
Marines benefit by working with the Aboriginal people in Australia because it gives them the opportunity to understand their surroundings and the different customs and cultures.
Beyond military training, the Marines have much to learn about their Australian hosts. Volunteering for the Clontarf Foundation is simply the beginning of what the Marines of MRF-D plan on doing to give back to Australia and its people.
The Marine Corps is fully committed to their alliance with Australia and they will continue to contribute socially and economically to local communities during their time here.
| Date Taken: | 05.09.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 05.12.2015 00:56 |
| Story ID: | 162981 |
| Location: | DARWIN, NT, AU |
| Hometown: | ALICE SPRINGS, NT, AU |
| Hometown: | SOUTH BEND, IN, US |
| Web Views: | 301 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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