A whole-of-school busking performance by students at Armadale Primary has raised over $1600, which will go towards ensuring children in remote Indigenous communities have access to books in their own language.
Over the past month, the school has been raising money and awareness for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) by participating in Busking For Change.
The fundraiser, spearheaded by beloved singer-songwriter and ILF ambassador Josh Pyke, began in 2009 as a ‘pub gig’.
“But I always thought it could be more than just a pub gig,” he said.
“When my own kids started school, I saw an amazing opportunity to raise awareness and funds for the ILF by turning Busking For Change into an annual event where kids would learn a song and collect sponsorship in return for their efforts.”
Funds generated by Busking For Change are used to help more remote communities access and create books in languages they speak at home – in an effort to preserve the wealth of our First Nations languages.
Armadale Primary music teacher Bree Hartley signed her school up to participate in the inaugural nation-wide event last year, and was keen to continue their efforts again this year.
“This is a way for us to do something for somebody else, and not get anything back except the joy of singing a fabulous song,” she said.
“I think it’s a really great lesson for our kids to learn. And we’ve been learning about Indigenous languages along the way too.”
At Friday’s school assembly, students officially sang Shordi Krik – a song written in Kriol (a creole spoken by Indigenous people in the deep north) by Justine Clarke and students from Barunga Remote Community School.
While donations are still filtering through, the school community has smashed its $1100 busking goal.
Armadale Primary is currently ranked third highest out of 125 schools nation-wide for their fundraising efforts.
