News from your Yirrikipayi House Captain and Student Ambassador Joshua Lam

A big ‘hi’ to all students and teachers in Yirrikipayi House! I am Joshua Lam, and I am currently in in Year 11 at Sydney Boys High School. I have been Student Ambassador with the Indigenous Literacy Foundation for two years, as I believe that good leaders need to be open minded and able to empathise with others people’s needs.

I held the school’s Great Book Swap at the end of last term, and it was a huge success in raising funds for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation. Our school has had a long relationship Boggabilla High School, and the Great Book Swap has been a great opportunity in raising awareness of the challenges many people face in a different way. Throughout the days, many students keenly participated, swapping and buying books for a gold coin donation. One teacher donated 27 books from their own personal library, and one student couldn’t get enough, buying around 10 books!

In all, we raised close to $120 to go to providing books to kids in remote communities. In addition, with the sponsorship of the school library, I created an Indigenous Affairs quiz, to help raise awareness of Indigenous backgrounds and issues, with the winner awarded a $100 book voucher.