Red Bend Catholic College Immersion
- marketing8445
- Sep 29
- 3 min read
Marist180 regularly welcomes and connects with other members of the Marist family. Over several years, Redbend Catholic College, Forbes, have provided an opportunity for a select group of Year 11 students to spend time in Western Sydney, which includes Marist180 immersion time, at our First Nations hub, Daramu.
The following is the text of what the Immersion group presented to the Redbend Catholic College community at a recent assembly.
‘Good afternoon, during the past school holidays a group of 7 students, Esme, Tarlei, Lucy, Will, Eben, Ned and Ruby were lucky enough to be a part of the Western Sydney Immersion team and experience this incredible opportunity.
The purpose of this immersion was to provide an opportunity to encounter communities that are different from our own and a chance to live out the Marist values. We were lucky enough to be staying at St Gregory's College in Campbelltown for the 2 nights and 3 days we were there.
Wednesday morning, we travelled up to Sydney and once we arrived, we checked out the shopping centre for some dinner then got to bed after the State of Origin, ready for the next few days.
On Thursday we attended the main event which was the NAIDOC celebrations with the Baabayn Aboriginal Community. We served as volunteers throughout the day, helping with everything from setting up gazebos to picking up rubbish and laying down sandbags to keep the wind from blowing the tents away. This experience was hands-on, meaningful and a reminder of the power a community has, coming together.
Friday was another exciting day for us as we got to stop in Mount Druitt before heading back to Forbes. We visited a place called Daramu, which is a specialist Aboriginal Youth Justice Program that aims to support children and young people 12-18 with finding purpose and keeping them on the right track. We heard from two of their workers, Jessica Beale and Scott Williamson, who shared personal experiences about their work, helping out their community, and the importance of understanding what others are going through.
We were also lucky enough to hear from Patrick O’Reilly, who is the Director of Mission, Inclusion and Identity at Marist180. He gave us lots of insightful information and helped us deepen our understanding of Marist values and the good they do in all communities.
Of course, it wasn’t all work and no play. We managed to squeeze in a bowling night on Thursday. While most of us were just trying to keep our balls out of the gutter, Barry must have been practicing before the trip, he easily got the win, and we didn’t stop hearing about it the rest of the trip.
We had such an amazing time on the Immersion and that would not have been possible without the staff who supported us, Barry and Mrs Nunn, the communities who welcomed us, and Mr Eyles who organised behind the scenes. We want to say a big thank you and would definitely recommend this experience to anyone who gets the chance to apply. We have also put together a small clip of our time away, thank you.’
This Red Bend Immersion links various parts of the Marist community: St Gregory’s, Daramu, and the LaValla200 community at Baabayn-Sylvia, Ruben and Br. Lawrie. For more than 65000 years, our First Nations sisters and brothers have inhabited this land, and, for much of this time, connected country, lore, culture and mob in a respectful and harmonious way. The Baabayn and Daramu teams seek to continue and support this.
100 years ago next year, St Gregory’s and Red Bend Catholic College celebrate their centenaries-and thousands of young people and Marists have grown and flourished in these communities. In 2013, the Superior General of the Marist Brothers, Br Emili Turu, in a paper titled ‘The Dance of Mission’, first proposed the LaValla200 communities, and offered the following invitation:
‘If you wish to offer some years of your life to the service of the Marist mission beyond the borders of your province or your country, I encourage you to step forward and make known your availability.’
Whilst not offering years, a big thank you to the Redbend students who joined this Immersion, and who, in their own words, sought the Marist mission beyond their province, and who welcomed: ‘an opportunity to encounter communities that are different from our own and a chance to live out the Marist values’.
