In Melbourne's south-east, a 'connection' revolution is lifting up a new generation

Most kids would be ropeable about doing homework on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Not Angeth Tink.

The 11-year-old has just gone up a level in maths, which she credits to the extra work she's been putting in as part of a new program.

"I used to really hate math at school, but coming here, I've learned way more. Now I like maths way better," she explained.

Plus, she gets to shoot some hoops before settling down behind the desk.

"I have lots of cousins, friends here, and siblings," she smiled, in between playing.

The name of the program she's taking part in — the Junior Black Rhinos — points to its basketball roots.

The Black Rhinos is a well-known local club in Melbourne's south-east.

But this is about more than sport.

The innovative program run by — and for — members of Victoria's African Australian community, combines mentoring, basketball and school, and it runs at multiple locations in Melbourne’s south-east.

It was co-designed by researchers at RMIT University, who are now recommending it be expanded to other communities following an evaluation of its success.

'Like school but it's fun'

A group of mothers watching from behind the net of the indoor court cheered each goal while youth mentors played alongside the children.

After an hour on the court, they all made their way to a makeshift classroom at Melbourne-based not-for-profit Afri-AusCare, which runs the program.

"If you're struggling with homework, you can get help and support from people that are here," 13-year-old Mon Kuol explained.

"I have family that come, like cousins and stuff, and it'll be fun just seeing them and working with them together.

"It's basically like school, but it's fun."

Afri-AusCare project manager Abraham Kuol said the focus was on providing "wraparound, holistic care" while the children were young.

"We're creating a community — a place for young people from African backgrounds to feel connected and to be supported," he said.

"Connection is key because the cohort we work with are African refugees and they tend to be isolated."

Mr Kuol said some young people, particularly from a refugee background, could struggle with a "dual identity complex".

"So they're finding it challenging to find where they belong."

He believes creating strong connections with the broader community through school and sport is vital, and will mean the children give back "tenfold".

The youth mentors easily transition from the court to the classroom, quizzing the students on times tables and helping explain English homework.

While they're hard at work, a group of the mothers moves to the kitchen where they laugh and talk while preparing a meal for everybody.

The inclusion of the women in the program is vital, according to the CEO of Afri-AusCare, Selba-Gondoza Luka.

"It is very important to involve the mothers or the grandmothers in the tutoring for the young people," she said.

"By doing that you increase a sense of belonging within the family instead of what has been happening, which is intergenerational conflict and intergenerational trauma."

The tasty food was also listed as a highlight by several of the young participants.

Mentors prove to be a hit

In addition to the Sunday gatherings at Springvale, the mentors also work with children at two local schools — Cranbourne Carlisle Primary School and Narre Warren South P-12 College — in both classes and weekly after-school homework clubs.

Year 8 student Ayuen Achick Riak from Narre Warren South grinned while describing them as "really good".

"Since they started this program, I've been understanding the work more and getting better grades," he said.

He was among more than a dozen students in an after-school class, being assisted by mentors including Kudzai Dune.

An evaluation of the program found having mentors from similar backgrounds was an essential part of the success with students.

"It's really an honour that they trust you, to build that relationship with you over time," Ms Dune said.

"I know [this program] is something that I would have wanted when I was in school, so it's really cool to be able to impact their lives in that way."

The school's community liaison officer, Frazer Bekele, who has been helping coordinate the program, said the mentors had also improved relationships between the students and their teachers.

"A lot of the feedback we've seen is that staff members are seeing students in a different light with the mentors," he said.

The Junior Rhinos was originally going to be designed for primary school students, but staff at Narre Warren South P-12 College suggested it go up to year 8, to cover the high school transition period for young people.

"The program is targeted for years 4 to 8, and that's a cohort where we're looking a lot more at our primary prevention, where we're not wanting issues and problems to occur, so we're getting them as young people, and raising their ceilings, as they say," Mr Bekele said.

"The opportunities for the young people to have access to the mentors in different mediums, having those frequent and diverse touchpoints is a really good opportunity for what the mentors are imparting on the young people to stick."

He also credits the program with helping build stronger connections between the students, with those in older grades also working after hours in the same classroom.

Year 12 student Kolroal Gai was full of praise for Mr Bekele and the mentors, saying he "just wanted to thank them so much".

"You know what they say, hard work beats talent," he said in response to a question about staying back after school.

"I've always looked up to my idol, which is Frazer, and I always see him putting in the extra yards — basketball, even helping us kids — so when he does things like that, I just look at him and think, 'Damn, I could really do this myself.'"

Program funded for three more years

After its initial 18 months, the program has just secured funding from the education department, and charitable foundation Brian M Davis, to continue for another three years.

Narre Warren South assistant principal Ryan Rooney said it was a "big relief" to hear the money had been secured.

"We wouldn't want to see something like this just end, and to just drop off," he said.

"I'm looking forward to seeing the outcomes as they continue to grow — the data now is good, but in five, six years' time this will have great carriage for us."

His relief has been shared by everyone involved, Afri-AusCare CEO Selba-Gondoza Luka said there had been growing concern as the end of the initial 18 months approached.

"It's young people. You can't just say that, 'Well funding has ceased. this is the end of the program.'

"It is very difficult to put the program together, and when the program is up and running, if you tell the community or the parents and the young people that we are stopping here, it always brings a lot of anxiety."

'Outstanding' results

Dr Rob Cunningham from RMIT was part of the team helping to design and evaluate the program. He said some of the results were "simply outstanding".

"Having worked with sport-based youth development programs previously, usually it takes quite a lot longer to see the same results," he explained.

The team found improvements in school participation and leadership, a strengthening of relationships between schools and families, and a greater sense of belonging.

The research team is looking to secure funding to conduct a broader longitudinal study, but believe the program should be expanded.

"We feel those same outcomes could be really beneficial to other communities as well," he said.

The research conducted during the creation of the program found the young people needed mentors and connection, and their parents also needed support.

Dr Cunningham pointed to the feedback from mothers obtained during the evaluation phase.

"There are some really great quotes in there from the mummas, who say, 'I'm a single mum. I don't have the time, I don't have the educational background to be able to support my young person in maths,'" he explained.

"They find maths really tough, some of the mummas, so having tutoring in maths has been really important for them as a family."

Afri-AusCare also runs sports teams and works with young people in prison and has programs to help women gain employment and improve their English skills.

"There are a lot of African young people doing really well. There's a small percentage of African young people committing offences — we still need to support them — but we do need more early intervention programs to ensure we can provide better support to young people so they can have better life outcomes in the future."

He is continually impressed with how bright the young participants in the Junior Young Rhinos are.

"All they need is an opportunity to be supported, for someone to give them a helping hand and that's what we try to do."