News: Bunuru, building new lives in Bayswater

The Bunuru Program is a foundation level vocational program for clients referred to Outcare by Youth Justice. It is run as a collaborative program by Outcare and Wirrpanda Foundation. The word ‘Bunuru’ comes from the Noongar language meaning ‘the second season of adolescence / the teenage period’ and it is clients in this stage of life who are targeted through the program.

Many Bunuru clients have had little or no previous engagement with formal education or training. The program provides a combination of reading and learning activities in a classroom setting, followed by project based, hands on work in our fully fitted workshop area. Here clients can put to practise the very skills they have just learned in the classroom.

The Bunuru Program is a 10-week program and we are very proud to see our first group of clients now nearing completion of their training. Over the past weeks these young men have learned skills such as fence building, bricklaying and plumbing as well as developed their basic literacy and numeracy skills. They have made good connections with employers in the region, both large, multinational companies and smaller domestic businesses in the Bayswater area. Visits to worksites have shown them the level of professionalism expected by employers.

As well as the practical skills required for employment, the Bunuru Program also provides a therapeutic art and painting program. For many of our young men, the Bunuru Program is the first formal learning environment where they have actively engaged. Addressing therapeutic needs within the program is an essential element to support these young people as they navigate these life changes, moving towards positive integration with the community.

Congratulations to our first Bunuru class. We are very proud of the dedication and hard work you have put in over the last term. We look forward to welcoming ten new clients to the program next term.

Click here for more information about Bunuru.

To find out about other programs we run, click here.