AUSTRALIA: 4 COLLEGES UNITE TO RAISE $40,000 FOR POOR IN TIMOR LESTE

ARCHDIOCESE OF MELBOURNE REPORT: Friday 9 September 2011

By Anthony Chapman

A perfect spring day? Check. Great line up of musical acts? Check. Five thousand students and staff of the four Catholic colleges in Geelong coming together to make poverty history? Check!

The 2011 Tri-umph Festival, held at St Joseph's College, Geelong on Friday 2 September, showcased the talents, the passion and the enthusiasm of our young people who organised the entire day, raising in excess of $40,000 to go to schools in Timor Leste.

Two years in the making, the students from St Joseph’s College, Clonard College, Sacred Heart College and St Ignatius put in countless hours of planning to ensure that the festival was not only a great day out for their school communities, but to also raise much needed funds for the schools in the towns of Railaco, Baccau and Vivueque in Timor Leste. The money raised will assist in educating the children of these communities to ensure a brighter future for the next generation of Timorese people, many of whom have endured poverty, war and violence in the struggle for independence.

New and emerging local talent, such as Sleep Decade, The Rusty’s, Perfect Fit, Sambrose Automobile and Kung Fu in Technicolour entertained the crowd throughout the day on the main stage, whilst the solar powered DJ tent was a hit with many students dancing the day away to the sounds of Your Ol’ Lady and Naysayer + Gilsun.

Oxfam, Young Vinnies and Headspace were on hand to provide information about youth services in the region as well as encouraging students to get involved to help end poverty. Food and merchandise stalls were also doing a roaring trade as students dug deep to contribute to the cause.

Angus O’Callaghan from St Joseph’s College, and a driving member of the student committee, was ecstatic with the end result of all the planning.

"It’s great to see all the hard work come together. Tri-umph has pushed us all to achieve something big, whilst making a difference to the lives of the young people of Timor. We couldn’t be happier".

Anthony Chapman is Director of Mission, St Joseph's College Geelong.

Photos supplied by St Joseph's College Geelong

http://www.cam.org.au/parish-school-news/2011-tri-umph-festival.html