Triple R Midday News Bulletin Wednesday September 26

Sept 26 James, Branka, Rach, Steph, Charmaine

Triple R Midday News 28 September 2012

Whether it’s infant mortality, the realities of war, or fleeing asylum seekers, the news from Afghanistan at present is rarely positive.

But an Australian schoolteacher and his class have decided to do something small to change that.

They’ve forged a relationship with the Afghan Youth Cricket Support Organisation in Kabul.

So far they’ve exchanged letters, raised money, collected cricket equipment to send over, and gained the attention of their federal and state MPs.

RACHEL BAXENDALE reports.

(Sound of children playing)

RACHEL BAXENDALE:
It’s a Wednesday afternoon and I’m at Coburg West Primary School in Melbourne’s north.

I’ve come to meet Paul Baks and his Grade five/six class and hear about what they’ve been doing for the Afghan Youth Cricket Support Organisation.

In his spare time, Paul coaches his son’s under-12 Mooney Valley cricket team. 

He says he first conceived of the project as a means to help improve the literacy of the kids in the team, some of whom were struggling.

PAUL BAKS: I thought maybe a pen-pal setup with another cricket team from another part of the world.

I thought if it was possible, if we could find another team of kids in Afghanistan.

And so they’d learn not only about their writing, but also about a different culture that was different to their life.

RACHEL BAXENDALE: Paul began an email exchange with the Afghan Youth Cricket Support Organisation founders, former Afghan cricket captain, Raees Ahmadzai, and Kabul-based British filmmaker, Leslie Knott.

He realised equipment was the main thing they needed, and started a drive at the cricket club.

Initially he didn’t get a great response.

But then he mentioned it to his class, and the idea took off.

PAUL BAKS: They were just throwing ideas at me, “well maybe we could do this, maybe we could do that”, and I thought, OK, well, let’s do this.

RACHEL BAXENDALE: And do it they have!

Over the past few months, the kids have made posters, given speeches, called in to talkback radio, and written letters to MPs, schools, newspapers, cricket clubs and equipment manufacturers.

As I walk around the classroom, they’re all very busy.

RACHEL BAXENDALE: And what are you girls up to?

LAUREN SORICH, MIA WELLS, ARI STOIC and EBONY LESNIOWSKA: We are sanding bats. 

Yeah, we’re sanding the bats, and if they don’t have any grips then we’re going to given them to the boys in there. 

They’re pretty good bats, but some of them are a bit weird.

RACHEL BAXENDALE: Why do you think people have given them away?

LAUREN SORICH, MIA WELLS, ARI STOIC and EBONY LESNIOWSKA: Because they’re nice.

They’re friendly.

Yeah, they’re friendly and they want to help the world.

RACHEL BAXENDALE: What are you all up to over here?

ALEXANDER PATOULIDIS: Over here we’re going to send emails to cricket clubs to see if they want to donate, because cricket season’s coming up and the worn out equipment they might be able to donate.

RACHEL BAXENDALE: The response from the public has already been overwhelming, particularly after one of the students rang in to ABC local radio host Jon Faine’s show.

PAUL BAKS: An hour after Riley, one of our students, was on Jon Faine, a man came in with a brand new cricket set that he’d gone out and bought after hearing it on the radio.

RACHEL BAXENDALE: The phones rang hot, with one woman even travelling over an hour from Geelong, to hand-deliver some equipment.

Paul Baks says there’ve also been huge educational benefits for his students.

PAUL BAKS: First term, we did Government and Democracy, and I kept saying to them, “you know, maybe you forfeit the right to complain about the world if you don’t do anything about it”, and so I think they get that now.

RACHEL BAXENDALE: The students experienced democracy very directly, when their local MP, Kelvin Thomson, read out a statement commending their work in federal parliament.

KELVIN THOMSON: Thank you Mr Deputy Speaker.

I would like to acknowledge in the parliament the importance of the Afghan Youth Cricket Support Organisation and the work of Coburg West Primary School students in trying to attract donations to support this important organisation.

RACHEL BAXENDALE: The final challenge for Paul Baks and his students will be to get the equipment they’ve collected over to Afghanistan.

Currently they’re in communication with the defence department, who look likely to help.

Rachel Baxendale, Radio Australia.


Sources:

SchoolPlayground.mp3, 2007, sound file, uploaded by “acclivity”, viewed 24 September 2012, <http://www.freesound.org/people/acclivity/sounds/34056/>

Kelvin Thomson MP: Speech 20/6/12: Afghan Youth Cricket Support Organisation & Coburg West, 2012, Canberra, online video, uploaded by “KelvinThomsonMP”,  accessed 24 September 2012, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Htz6JdDT1Ic>