Two teams of young refugee students will literally dive in the deep end to help fundraise for Albury-Wodonga’s headspace centre.
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The Murray High School students will take part in the Albury-Wodonga Big Splash event at Albury Swim Centre on March 1 thanks to sponsorship from Drummond Real Estate Albury.
On Wednesday they were busy honing their relatively new-found swimming skills during an instruction session at the Lavington pool.
Murray High School teacher Kerrie O’Connell said the Big Splash was a fantastic opportunity for students to participate in a fun community event for a cause close to their hearts – as well as practise their swimming!
“Students took part last year because we are trying to encourage and promote their community involvement,” Ms O’Connell said.
“Many of them are not strong swimmers so the Big Splash is a realistic activity around water, which is such a huge part of Australian culture.
“Also, because many of these students have a refugee background they are all too familiar with mental health problems – they have lived and breathed them.”
There is still time to register teams for the Big Splash, which sees competitors of all ages and abilities vie for glory in a fun-filled evening of swimming games.
The event was founded in memory of talented Albury water polo player Mary Baker who took her own life in 2011 at just 15 years of age.
Her mother Annette Baker, who was a finalist in the 2016 Australian Mental Health Prize, said the Border had embraced the event.
Mrs Baker said the support for the Big Splash was a continuation of the community campaign that secured a youth mental health centre for the region.
“We are hoping to raise $10,000 for Albury-Wodonga headspace and it looks like we are on track to have 110 teams participating again this year,” she said.
“Over the past three years this event has got people talking about mental health – it’s a really safe environment for people to be able to open up about their own experiences.
“It’s fun and it works.”
Internationally renowned mental health advocate Professor Patrick McGorry has repeatedly hailed the Border as a shining example of the power of the people to enact change.
Mrs Baker said events such as the Big Splash and annual Winter Solstice helped create a greater reach and awareness in the community of mental illness and suicide.
“Mental illness does not discriminate so it’s important to have community-driven occasions where people from all walks of life can come together to support one another,” she said.