Boys to the Bush is a not-for-profit, community-based charity that focuses on preventative and early intervention strategies for disengaged young males.
Tongala Primary School is giving 10 boys from the school the chance to become involved in the term four program, which will involve a series of activities to make them the envy of those left at school.
A Moama school has just completed its program and Rochester’s two flood-affected primary schools are the next cabs off the rank.
The Tongala program will follow and last week Moama location manager Andrew Thomson and MENtor Dean Walton were at the Tongala school to meet with participants and their parents.
Perricoota Station, Rich River Golf Club and Mitiamo Rock have been some of the locations used by the program managers in delivering the message to Moama students.
They have more planned for the next five-week program, which will involve five full days for the students, before arriving at Tongala.
Mr Thomson said the aim of Boys to the Bush was to provide the students with leadership skills, improve their confidence and have them work outside their comfort zones.
The organisation takes the culturally sensitive nature of modern society very seriously and has employed Clint Atkinson to work in the indigenous space.
After five years of operation, the Rochester, Moama and Tongala students are benefiting from the lessons learnt by the founders in the past six years.
“They (founders Adam DeMamiel, Richard Leahy and Tim Sanson) were a bunch of school teachers who saw there were some kids missing out for a variety of reasons,” Mr Thomson said.
“Boys to the Bush has now grown to 130 staff and has had 6000 kids go through the program.”
Bush cooking, farm and business visits and recreational programs including hiking, canoeing and bike riding are among the activities.
“Engagement is one of our core values, along with community and respect,” Mr Thomson said.
He said the data pointed to the fact that boys needed more help to engage in learning and society, which is why the organisation focused on delievering the program for males.
“The aim is to have boys learn resilience and respect. Girls to the Bush is still a couple of years away,” he said.
The program doesn’t allow any devices, with Mr Thomson saying it uses the biggest playground you can get — the outdoors.
“In recent years people have found out a fair bit about themselves with COVID and disaster (floods),” he said.
“This program helps boys to understand resilience.
“We greet the boys with a firm handshake and by looking in their eyes.
“And they walk away with much more than a hat and t-shirt from the program.”
