Townsville welcomes Diamond Spirit just in time for International Day of the Girl
The Samsung Diamonds had quite the crowd at their training yesterday as they prepare to take on the New Zealand Silver Ferns in Townsville tonight. After travelling down from Cairns, the Diamonds Spirit girls watched and eagerly waited to meet their idols ahead of the second match of the Constellation Cup.
The Diamonds Spirit community engagement program has made a positive impact in the lives of more than 1000 participants, which uses netball as the vehicle to empower and educate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls through participation, education and employment pathways.
In 2018, the Educate pillar of Diamond Spirit was launched at Cairns State High School through a partnership with the Department of Education and Netball Queensland. The Educate pillar provides personalised mentoring support, encouragement and motivations for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander female students in Years 7 to 12. The students are encouraged to achieve maximum school attendance, effort and behaviour as well as Year 12 certification.
Diamonds Spirit Educate Coordinator, Alex Proctor is passionate about the program which aims to support students through their education journey, “The success of the program is obvious with the girls now having the opportunity to attend health and wellbeing programs, weekly fitness sessions and support through a lunchtime help hub providing opportunity for further in-school mentoring and case management support”.
Proctor explained the importance of empowerment after senior students returned from a trip to Weipa where they were encouraged to share their knowledge and train other students, “It’s really just about empowering the girls and seeing them shine” said Proctor.
The Confident Girls Foundation, which has helped to fund the Diamonds Spirit Program, work with community partners across Australia who run inclusive programs building resilience and providing opportunities for vulnerable girls to thrive through netball.