RMIT students empower vulnerable young people

RMIT students empower vulnerable young people

More than 30 young people from Life Project 4 Youth, a not-for-profit organisation that offers vocational training for at-risk youth, recently attended a half-day event to empower themselves against dangerous situations.

More than 30 young participants from Life Project 4 Youth enjoyed a half-day event organised by RMIT Enactus Student Club. More than 30 young participants from Life Project 4 Youth enjoyed a half-day event organised by RMIT Enactus Student Club.

Organised by students from RMIT Enactus Student Club in partnership with RMIT Wellbeing and Life Project 4 Youth, the event Don’t Cross the Line addressed many issues that vulnerable young people face, including poverty, street violence, abuse and harassment. 

“Due to the nature of their working environment, those young participants are exposed to many severe situations and might not be equipped with an appropriate skillset to cope with them,” said Bachelor of Logistics and Supply Chain Management student and project leader O Thanh Duy Anh.

“The line between joking and sexual harassment is very fragile, and victims usually don’t know how to react or deal with it,” Duy Anh said.

“We invited expert guest speakers from RMIT Wellbeing and Hope Unending to help participants identify possible threats and learn how to deal with them through a number of fun and engaging games.”

Bachelor of Logistics and Supply Chain Management student and project leader O Thanh Duy Anh (pictured with a hand up) demonstrates a game. Bachelor of Logistics and Supply Chain Management student and project leader O Thanh Duy Anh (pictured with a hand up) demonstrates a game.

Sign language interpreters were organised to attend the event, to help communicate the information to young people in the group with a hearing impairment. The volunteer students involved in the project were very happy with the enthusiasm that the participants showed.

“We had to review and test the [event] format many times before event day to make sure they were inclusive for everyone,” said Bachelor of Business (Economics and Finance) student Nguyen Thi Thanh Nga, who oversaw finances for the project.

“The flow also had to be adjusted as one of the presentations was delivered in English by a Hope Unending representative, which required double layers of translation - from English to Vietnamese, then from Vietnamese to sign language.

“We were glad that the participants enjoyed the event and gained some take-away lessons.”

The RMIT Enactus Student Club’s commitment and efforts that went into preparing the event was greatly appreciated by the Life Project 4 Youth young people and partner RMIT Wellbeing.

“All of the RMIT students involved were very professional, which made me feel like I wasn’t working with a student club, but rather a very professional business organisation in the industry,” said RMIT Wellbeing Safer Community Advisor Tran Le Nhu Phuong.

“Using the training materials prepared by RMIT Wellbeing in collaboration with Hope Unending, the Enactus club members went on to develop engaging activities, supplementary items, take-away training materials, badges, stickers, the backdrop and prizes,” Ms Phuong said. “They even turned catering into a chance for the young people to practice food preparation. A group leader wrote to us to show their appreciation for giving the youths their first chance to prepare such a big order, which was for more than 50 people.”

Youths from Life Project 4 Youth learnt how to identify street harassment and how to cope with it. Youths from Life Project 4 Youth learnt how to identify street harassment and how to cope with it.

The participants weren’t the only ones to benefit from the event, as those involved in organising it did so as well.

Bachelor of Business (Human Resource Management) Ho Hoai Thanh managed human resources, ushers and logistics. He emphasised that every team member acquired flexibility and adaptability.

“From the last-minute change in venue to time management to committing to the length of the project (more than three months), our soft skills were boosted significantly,” Thanh said.

Story: Ha Hoang

07 October 2019

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