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My dream is to become a social
worker and make a difference in the community, no matter how
small. As a social worker, I would like to start a youth
club and interact with youths and help them to stay on track
and away from trouble.
There have been many a time
where people have looked at me in disgust, fear and ridicule
when I tell them that I am from Cabramatta. Now every time I
tell someone where I live, I cringe inside at the
expected look of disgust. They probably have heard the
many stories of how “dangerous” Cabramatta is, with drugs
and gangs.
Being a
teenager, I have faced many new realities in recent years,
ranging from bullying, prejudice to violence. But growing up
in Cabramatta has furthered my awareness of other
controversial issues such as drugs and gangs. I am aware
that gangs and drugs are two main unpleasant features of
Cabramatta. It upsets me greatly that these features,
especially drugs, have poisoned my suburb, choking it with a
thick layer of soot, making everything black, hiding the
good, until all that outsiders can see are the bad points
about Cabramatta.
Cabramatta
is really a beautiful and diverse area with an extraordinary
wide range of cultural backgrounds and a great variety of
Asian foods. It is really a shame to see people avoiding
Cabramatta because of the bad name given to this truly
amazing suburb, caused by the drug addicts circulating the
area.
I myself
know I will not be able to rid Cabramatta of drug and gang
related problems. This is why my dream is not to relieve
Cabramatta of these problems, but to simply try to ease
them. My dream is to become a social worker. In my dream as
a social worker, I will open my own youth club, where many
facilities may be accessed and activities made available.
I know that
children tend to enjoy exploring and experiencing new
things. This is the same with teenagers, including myself.
If youths are not given a chance to participate in creative
activities, such as sports and the arts, they can turn to
drugs to occupy their time or to see it as a ‘new’
experience. If youths are not given the opportunity to be
counselled when they are sad or depressed, they could
again turn to drugs, but this time for comfort. This is
why I feel that opening up a youth club would discourage and
hopefully ease Cabramatta at least of the number of youths
becoming involved with any form of addictive drugs, which
can cause harm to the body. My youth club will not only
provide activities for youths, but also counselling
services.
In my dream
as a social worker, I will be counselling youths with a team
of about six other counsellors. We will be there to listen
to youths with their problems and offer advice. We will be
there to guide them onto the safer road, away from drugs and
gangs. As a counsellor, I could possibly help youths out of
depression and assist them through their times of trouble.
By doing this, I would be hopefully deterring youths from
turning to drugs as a form of comfort and relief.
In my youth
club, I would also have educational programs running,
informing teenagers of the dangers, symptoms, and some facts
about a wide range of drugs such as heroine. Informing
youths with the ugly truth will hopefully again discourage
many from using drugs. Colourful booklets, pamphlets, and
‘groovy’ videos may be developed to make the educational
programs more appealing to youths, and hence these
educational programs will be a success.
There will
also be many activities organised, everyday of the week to
suit all tastes. Football, soccer, basketball, tennis,
swimming, netball and chess are just some of the sports that
will be available with ready facilities. Coaches will be
there to coach the teams and teach players the basic rules.
Music, dance, drama and other arts will also be provided for
those youths interested in this field. Self-defence classes
will be running at the club. A committee consisting of
enthusiastic youths will design, write and run the web page
for my youth club. It would not only be part of my youth
club, but it would be ‘our’ web page. All this activity
would mean that youths will not turn to drugs as for
something to do and will stay off the streets and out of
dangerous gangs.
This youth
club of mine is not only a place for youths to “hang out”
and socialise, but it is available for them psychologically.
It simply gives them a sense of belonging, which all
teenagers need when they are trying to fit into a world of
adults.
The
interaction between youths, the counsellors, the coaches and
myself will be great. Youths will be flocking in from all
around the Cabramatta-Fairfield region to be part of this
great and ‘cool’ place to ‘hang out.’ It will deter youths
from using addictive and potentially dangerous drugs and
joining a gang. My youth club will also help youths through
problems, educate them about drugs, give them a sense of
belonging and encourage the participation of a wide range of
fun activities.
My youth
club may not eliminate the problem of drugs and gangs in
Cabramatta, but it would be a start- a small one, but a
great one.
May be one
day in the future, the drug problems of Cabramatta will
decrease greatly, maybe even go away. Maybe one day, I could
even hold my head up high, look an outsider straight in the
eye and tell them that I am from Cabramatta, with an air of
confidence and pride. I would not cringe at the now
unexpected look of disgust and fear, but I would look
upon the other person’s face and see their eyes light up
with envy because Cabramatta is such a unique suburb.
Someone
once said, “Life isn’t measured by the length you live but
by the deeds you do and the joy you bring,” and I intend to
do just that—make the most of my life, and make my dreams
come true. |
