The West Coast Eagles and Wirrpanda Foundation joined forces to facilitate a ‘Back to School’ visit to the Jigalong Community in Western Australia’s remote Pilbara region last week.
Former AFL stars and Wirrpanda Foundation mentors David Wirrpanda and Troy Cook and West Coast community and game development staff kicked off their three-day expedition by hosting a barbecue at Jigalong Remote Community School, which coincided with its NAIDOC celebrations.
Eagles schools and community coordinator James Grabski said the barbecue was a great way for everyone to get familiarised with each other.
“The barbecue this afternoon provided a great opportunity to connect with the Jigalong community,” Grabski said.
“We worked closely with community members, the school and the local police to plan the event and it was terrific to see the genuine collaboration which is so important within remote and regional communities.”
Rick the Rock made a special appearance on day two and offered support to West Coast and Wirrpanda Foundation staff who delivered a suite of Eagles in the Community education programs to students.
Wirrpanda, Cook, Grabski and West Coast Eagles schools and community manager Michelle Phillips facilitated a range of activities, including a reading forum, various football clinics and an arts and craft session that challenged the students to design a new West Coast Eagles Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round guernsey.
Wirrpanda and Cook also addressed the cohort about the importance of staying in school.
“It’s great for the Wirrpanda Foundation to work with the West Coast Eagles to offer opportunities like this in a remote area of WA,” Wirrpanda said.
“The students get a lot out of our presence in the community. Hopefully visits like this motivate students and improve their attendance at school,” Cook said.
In accordance with the club’s 2017-2020 Stretch Reconciliation Action Plan, West Coast Eagles and Wirrpanda Foundation staff conduct at least one trip to a remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community per year.
