Finnish Formula 1 star Valtteri Bottas has spent the weeks leading up to the Australian Grand Prix getting better acquainted with the land down under, taking cycling tours and picking grapes in premium wine country.
But it was a trip to a kindergarten in northern Victoria yesterday that the Alfa Romeo driver said would give him a boost on race day.
The Save the Children Kindergarten was heavily damaged during disastrous flooding late last year and vandalism and theft have delayed repair efforts.
The building is insured for flood damage, but unexpected expenses and questions about future funding have threatened its future.
So Bottas stepped in to lend a hand.
He and Indigenous artist Ricky Kildea have collaborated on a design for the helmet the Finnish driver will wear during the grand prix, which will be auctioned after this weekend's event.
The proceeds will be equally divided between the kindergarten and an Aboriginal basketball academy.
Bottas said the idea was formed during a trip to Australia last year to visit his girlfriend, Australian cyclist Tiffany Cromwell.
"It's a small thing for me, but if it helps it gives me a good feeling and motivates me for the weekend," he said.
"It is for me a chance, as well, to educate myself more and to get to know different communities, to learn different backgrounds from different people."
The Alfa Romeo F1 team has supported Save the Children Switzerland since 2019 and paved the way for it to work with its Australian arm, 54 Reasons.
Lifeline for struggling centre
The kindergarten in Mooroopna is for First Nations children and those from diverse or disadvantaged backgrounds.
54 Reasons regional manager Lee Joachim said he hoped Bottas's visit showed the children they were "important".
"That someone of his stature would bother to come here, to little old Mooroopna, and talk to the kids after what we've suffered, through COVID and floods, and that continual trauma that our families will experience and us as workers will experience as well," Mr Joachim said.
On top of the flood damage, the kindergarten was facing an uphill battle dealing with a list of issues including staffing shortages, termites and ventilation problems.
"We've been broken into by various people, we've had our fence damaged — that's not cheap to purchase and it's not part of insurance as well," Mr Joachim said.
Mr Joachim has first-hand knowledge of the kindy's importance — his family history with Save the Children goes back five generations.
His grandmother raised his mother in the Mooroopna area, on the banks of the Goulburn River on Yorta Yorta country.
"With the support of Save the Children, they provided some education for her family," Mr Joachim said.
He went on to attend the kindergarten, as did his children and grandchildren.
"We are teaching the children they do have rights and that their families understand their rights as well," Mr Joachim said.
"We educate the wider community that children have a right to speak and represent themselves.
"That's an important aim for me — coming from an Indigenous background and understanding your rights can be extinguished from you."
