On the surface, the Kimberley 9s Carnival is an incredible showcase of community spirit and fun, set on the beautiful Cable Beach which provides a stunning backdrop for videos and photos alike.
But when you dig a little deeper, and you walk around the carnival talking to students and teachers, there are great stories of genuine impact and resilience of young people in the region.
21 primary schools, and 14 secondary schools, including six All-Abilities classes took part in this year’s carnival, which is the culmination of a year-long program run by the Purple Hands Foundation to encourage positive social behaviours and school attendance in the Kimberley.
One of those schools that took part for the first time this year was Luurnpa Catholic School in Balgo, a community more than 800 kilometres from Broome.
Taking part in the carnival was no short drive for the school… it was a 24-hour return trip by busses and cars.
But according to one of the teachers, Melkorka Hilmarsdottir, or Miss ‘M’ as her students call her, they wouldn’t have it any other way.
“It’s a big, big drive,” Miss ‘M’ said.
“First we drove from Balgo to the end of the Tanami in five different cars, we even had the police car come and help us fit all the kids in, and then at the turn off we had a coaster bus come and pick us up to take us the rest of the way to Broome.
Miss ‘M’ said the impact of the program was felt most in the classroom throughout the year, with attendance up, as well as the student’s overall behaviour.
“Having this trip has been really good at helping them come to school almost every day, coming to footy training twice a week and following school rules,” she said.
“My class size more than tripled in size from having two-to-four students every day, to having eight-to-12.
“There’s lots of reasons for that, but this program is definitely a big part of it, because they just love their footy.
“We play footy, we watch footy video highlights, and we talk about coming here to the beach, because we don’t have a beach near Balgo, only lakes and streams during the wet season.
“Some of these kids have only ever been to a beach once in their lives before.”
There was one student that Miss ‘M’ was particularly proud of for transforming her year to make it to the carnival.
"One of our high school girls has struggled to engage consistently with school this past year, but regularly engages in sporting activities in the community. The Kimberley 9s program provided a great avenue for deeper engagement with learning, helping students grow and develop positively in the classroom and as members of the school community.” Miss ‘M’ said.
“Her whole family got up at 5.30am to see her off, and as we passed them on the bus they were waving to her and so excited that she had got to come on this trip, because she has never been on a school trip before.”
Miss ‘M’ said being from such a remote area meant there was more than just the excitement of the football carnival for the kids to look forward to.
“They’re also excited to go shopping,” she said.
“Oh and some bubble tea, because they have seen it on TikTok and they really want to try it!”
