METWELL: I was a stranger, and you welcomed me
- 6 days ago
- 2 min read
As 2025 drew to a close, METWELL finished the year on a high with an unforgettable World Cup-style tournament with students from Parramatta Marist High (PMH) and young people from our Unaccompanied Humanitarian Minors (UHM) program.
For those unfamiliar-METWELL stands for Marist Exchange Two Way Education Life Learning, which partners our UHM young people with PMH students to build meaningful connections between young people, some from refugee and humanitarian experience and backgrounds.
In Terms 2 and 3, PMH Year 11 students collaborated with young people from our UHM program to cook Afghan and Australian style cuisine, sharing stories and laughter in the kitchen. This hands-on experience built valuable teamwork, culinary skills and fostered empathy and a cross-cultural understanding. As skill and teamwork grew, the participants worked up to and tackled a full 3-course meal in the latter part of Term 3!
Term 4 welcomed the ‘World Game’, where mixed teams came together in what were a few vibrant, football-filled afternoons that truly captured the spirit of teamwork and cultural connections.
Football-the one with the round ball-has a unique way of bringing people together across cultures, ages, and backgrounds, and it certainly didn’t disappoint. From the first whistle, the atmosphere was electric: cheers echoed from the sidelines as every match showcased skill, determination, and plenty of good-natured competition.
It wasn’t just about football; it was about building friendships and celebrating diversity, with relationships between and across teams deepening across the term.
The day of the tournament finals every player was recognised with a certificate acknowledging their involvement in METWELL, with special awards presented to the Players of the Match, honouring and recognising high level sportsmanship and teamwork.
This event was more than a game-it was a powerful reminder of how sport can bring people together, foster inclusion, and create lasting memories. A huge thank you to everyone who made METWELL 2025 such a success!
It’s an exciting further step and engagement for and with our METWELL initiative, in our third year. Through learning, sporting, scholastic, culinary and cultural pursuits, we are promoting and developing new relationships, shared understanding and community connection among our UHM young people and students from two Marist schools-Parramatta Marist High, and Marist College, Canberra (earlier in 2025). When we are seen, we are recognised, we are met well…
