The Head Start Club, Cherbourg QLD

Since March 2008, Kids For Life has been supporting children living in Cherbourg, a rural Indigenous community in Queensland. Here, kids aged 5-18 arrive at school up to three hours early due to home or family disturbances. They play like most Australian kids but the difference is, by the time school starts they hadn’t eaten. Not only were they more than famished by lunchtime, they suffered from lack of concentration and health issues such as ear, nose and throat infections.

Kids For Life have helped change the start of their day by providing healthy, single serves of breakfast to the kids through the school canteen. This is run in conjunction with the Silverlining Foundation who now employs 3 indigenous staff to oversee and manage the Headstart program. Together, we provide a nutritionally balanced breakfast including fresh fruit, cereal and dairy.

The program is proving to be extremely successful with outcomes for the children and the community far exceeding initial expectations. Between 70-100 children show up each day, some of whom are experiencing foods they have never tried before.

Teachers are commenting that the children’s school attendance has significantly improved and that they have more stamina and better concentration. We’re proud to have made such a positive step forward in a community that has struggled for years to get parents enagaged in their children’s health and education.