Lewis Jetta's Wall of Hands

[Primmy]

You may have seen this, you may not have noticed, but it is important. Our indigenous youth in community has an appalling record for literacy. You can do so much for so little. Please have a look. Some of us have done so, and I urge you to too. If you do, it means you can read. Think about it.

ALNF Wall of Hands - Lewis Jetta & The Swans' Wall

And yes I am posting this on a Swans thread as it seems to me our responsibility too. If the moderators want to move it, so be it. Ta.

[Kirkari]

It's a great initiative, Primmy. Already donated. Hoping to corner Lewis soon to get a photo with him and hands to post on the wall... Wish me luck!

[Primmy]

Good idea. I may try the same.

[jono2707]

Thanks Primmy - I was going to do this a while ago but forgot. I jumped on and donated - its very easy to do it so I'd urge everyone on here to jump on and throw in a little bit of support. I have a mate who teaches in an indigenous pre-school in Glebe and people doing these sorts of jobs around Australia can do with all the assistance they can get....

[Kirkari]

If you think a small donation won't make a difference, think again.

Lewis' mum and dad spoke at the fan event in Perth tonight. They spoke about when Lewis was playing footy here and they needed to drive him to Perth from Bunbury for a game. They had $30 and needed $25 for petrol to get there. They spent the other $5 on food for Lewis on the way. $30 that may have meant the difference between his life as it is and being just another indigenous kid who could have made it.

[BillyRayCypress]

Unfortunately poverty and family hardship is not just confined to people of indigenous origin.

I would rather see the Aus Govt spend more on helping all poverty stricken people here and not just throwing millions to donations to other countries first.

Making a donation is quite easy because it doesn't cost you any of your own time. Physically helping out costs a little more.

[Primmy]

This is about being able to read.

Or not.

Read a book, a newspaper, a computer screen, a blog, a job application, a work safety sign, to learn. Just to read.

It is unfortunate, but many Indig kids in community have backgrounds of parents/aunties/uncles who do not read and are not encouraging their children to do so. The children do not have home support to help them in this art. Think of what Adam Goodes went through with his own peers because he chose to learn rather than not.

That is the whole point of this movement. Get the kids reading, so that they have a flying @@@@@@ of a chance.

[BillyRayCypress]

Think of what Adam Goodes went through with his own peers because he chose to learn rather than not.

That is the whole point of this movement. Get the kids reading, so that they have a flying @@@@@@ of a chance.

Adam never lived in a remote community and his relatives had the same opportunity to learn as what he did. They chose not to. Adam was lucky in that his Mother was/is wise and knew what was important. So Hand of Walls would not have helped Adam or other indigenous children living in non remote communities ie towns and cities. That's a whole different issue.

The aims of the project are clear and I wasn't implying that it was the Government's responsibility but rather the fault of Government for ignoring important local issues and throwing money at overseas aid first.

The $520 target for a six months of teaching would be an outstanding donation for individuals or groups who could afford it. That's incredibly inexpensive for the time period.

[Magbrix]

Why does it have to be one or the other. I think the initiative by Jetta is fantastic and am donating today. I also donate to UNHCR and other national/international causes. As one of the world's richest countries i'd be bloody ashamed if our Government didn't put its hand up to assist other countries - wish it did a bit more to be frank. A bit bloody xenophbic to think the world stop's at Australia's borders.

[Dirtyburt]

Why does it have to be one or the other. I think the initiative by Jetta is fantastic and am donating today. I also donate to UNHCR and other national/international causes. As one of the world's richest countries i'd be bloody ashamed if our Government didn't put its hand up to assist other countries - wish it did a bit more to be frank. A bit bloody xenophbic to think the world stop's at Australia's borders.

Great post

[BillyRayCypress]

Why does it have to be one or the other.
As one of the world's richest countries i'd be bloody ashamed if our Government didn't put its hand up to assist other countries - wish it did a bit more to be frank. A bit bloody xenophbic to think the world stop's at Australia's borders.

Who said it had to be one or the other?

To use the Government as a parent analogy. What sort of parent would feed the children in another house (even if they think it is less fortunate than theirs) whilst letting their own children starve? Where is the sense of that.

The Wall of Hands project is a clearly defined project with a break down of where the money goes and what they will do with it. Throwing money at overseas countries when it's been shown that only a small portion of that money gets to the people that really need it, makes no sense to me. If they can prove that it does then that is a different matter.

People should donate money to accountable viable causes if they can. It doesn't cost you any of your time to do that does it.

[Primmy]

I was going to say something about "read my post again" Billy, but I give up.

All I want to do is help Jetts raise money to help indigenous kids in remote areas gain an avenue towards being able to read and thereby improving their potential in whatever area they choose. That's it. Not open to negotiation or argument.

[BillyRayCypress]

I was going to say something about "read my post again" Billy, but I give up.

All I want to do is help Jetts raise money to help indigenous kids in remote areas gain an avenue towards being able to read and thereby improving their potential in whatever area they choose. That's it. Not open to negotiation or argument.

Well, I thought I was supporting the cause in my argumment.

This is an open forum and providing the rules are followed then it is open for discussion. I'll leave this topic now as it appears some things are sacred cows and can't be discussed as indicated by the lack of comments in this thread.

[DLBIA14]

Who said it had to be one or the other?

To use the Government as a parent analogy. What sort of parent would feed the children in another house (even if they think it is less fortunate than theirs) whilst letting their own children starve? Where is the sense of that.

The Wall of Hands project is a clearly defined project with a break down of where the money goes and what they will do with it. Throwing money at overseas countries when it's been shown that only a small portion of that money gets to the people that really need it, makes no sense to me. If they can prove that it does then that is a different matter.

People should donate money to accountable viable causes if they can. It doesn't cost you any of your time to do that does it.

I don't think anyone is averse to having the open discussion if you want it.

The analogy you use pretty disingenuous. To suggest the Australian government has been more concerned with the human struggles of those overseas is an oversimplification of the issue. There is relative poverty in Australia, but thankfully there isn't absolute poverty. This is a country of opportunity where every individual possesses an ability to get an education, have food on the table a right to shelter.

Nobody here is dying becasue of famine, becasue of a disease that is vaccine avoidable, becasue the water they drink is contaminated. Nobody is threatened here because of government oppression, civil war, genocide, or violent militias. Nobody here has to feel insecure about their life becasue of the colour of their skin, or their gender, or god forbid the gender of their baby.

You are mixing two issues that should not be related. Our overseas aid budget does not interfere with our ability to find solutions for the gap in the standard of living between our indigenous population and the rest of the country. A lot of the problem itself has less to do with money as it has to do with wounds still not healed in a process of reconciliation.

On your claims about 'only a small proportion of [the] money [reaching] the people that really need it' well you've ventured out into one of the biggest issues within foreign aid; do it really work? Feel free to come to your own conclusion, but the reality is that aid is often given conditionally to safe guard its use, and further its success is contingent on quite a few variables within the recipient country. South Korea, for instance, is a success story when it comes to the virtues of aid. They used much of it to invest in infrastructure and with a governemnt-led economic development pathway of export expansion they've become one of the bigger economies in the world. Then there are countries like Ghana who utilised their aid to further consume rather than make investments and opened up a perpetual cycle of dependency...

You also haven't acknowledged Australia's regional responsibility and more importantly, the fact that we give aid to countries in a way that is to our own interest. There is no need to suggest aid giving is done becasue of the kindness of our heart; it is a strategic as everything else the government does and we reap the benefits further down the track. South East Asia's development is an economic boon for us no doubt.

Overall its a complex issue that you've completely undersold. You'll be happy to know that the government's cut is foreign aid budget in the last Federal budget though...

[BillyRayCypress]

I agree with what you're saying and you've made many significant and valid points to think aboout. With all these comments its added to increasing everyones awareness.