A Gold Coast-based charity is expanding to regional areas to provide opportunities for more students, with the aim of keeping them in school.
The On the Right Track program will roll out in state schools in Boonah, Beaudesert, Laidley and Rosewood, reaching 96 students over two years.
Kokoda Youth Foundation CEO Johllene Elson said the program was about preventing juvenile crime in those towns.
"We are targeting those kids who are at risk of exiting the school system and keeping them in education through a series of outdoor education activities over a six-month course," Ms Elson said.
Towards 96km Kokoda Challenge
Ms Elson said the first half of the two-phase program involved taking the students out of class one day a week to train.
"They do bushwalking all day — they're training up to do a significant peak experience, which is the Kokoda event on the Gold Coast," she said.
The Kokoda Challenge, which raises money for the youth foundation, covers 18, 48 or 96 kilometres in the Gold Coast hinterland.
"The second phase is the community service element where they're still coming out of school for a day a week but they're going and volunteering at other not-for-profits in their community — Red Cross, Men's Shed, Landcare," Ms Elson said.
"They engage with the community with the view to stay on the right track and build those relationships that might prevent them from making poor choices in the future that might derail their career paths."
Speaking from experience
Tiffani Seaton now works for the charity, but went through a Kokoda Youth Foundation program when she was at school — a program she said changed her life.
"I was a little bit lost in life, didn't really know who I was, what I wanted to be, where I wanted to go," she said.
"It gave me direction, clarity, confidence and life skills.
The Kokoda Youth Foundation has been operating for 17 years but the charity hit a hurdle in 2020, with fundraising events called off when the pandemic struck.
It was forced to look elsewhere for funds, so applied for government grants.
The charity says the expansion is possible thanks to $1.4 million in funding from the federal government.
"We could only fund one program so this is amazing to be able to fund four programs for two years," Ms Elson said.
Moncreiff MP Angie Bell said it was part of a package aimed at creating stronger communities.
