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“It’s not who you are
that holds you back.
It’s who you think
you’re not that does.”

We are looking for a PR assistant. Can you help? Contact Vicki Condon on 1300 553 629 or visit www.seekvolunteer.com.au

Life Changing Experiences Foundation
PO Box 530 Vaucluse NSW 2030

T 1300 553 629
F 1300 550 780

Email
enquiries@lifechangingexperiences.org

www.lifechangingexperiences.org

Assisting the lives of
Australian youth,
by providing support,
inspiration and opportunity
to allow them to realise
their full potential.

[ SISTER2sister News ]

"Little Sister, Maz, Reaches for the Sky and Heads Home"

At our recent outing, all 43 of our Little Sisters faced their fears and reached for the sky at the Skywalk on Sydney Tower.  One Little Sister reached even further and achieved a great milestone.  She is Little Sister, Maz, who spent most of April in the Sydney Children’s Hospital at Randwick, including the entire Easter break.  We are very proud of Maz for working so hard to get better, and we are thrilled that she was able to leave hospital and move into a new home, just in time to join us for our outing at the Sydney Tower.

Our Little Sisters Reach for the Sky

With their hair billowing in the wind, and nothing but a sheer pane of glass holding them high above the Sydney city skyline, our Little Sisters faced their fears and reached for the sky at our recent outing in April at the Skywalk at Sydney Tower.

All 43 of our Little Sisters, and as many of our fabulous Big Sisters as possible, realised that the sky is the limit when it comes to the many life changing experiences they can encounter when they are part of The SISTER2sister Program.

After a lovely lunch of salad sandwiches and creamy birthday cake, the girls were split into four groups, and helped into their oh-so-fashionable blue Skywalk overalls, and ventured a full 360 degrees around the top of Sydney Tower, on the outside!  The highlight was standing on a sheer glass panel, right out on the edge of the Tower, whilst gazing out across the beautiful panorama of Sydney and its surrounding harbour.  The experience was challenging, yet exciting, and definitely a "once in a lifetime opportunity" for the girls.

The day was not all shrieks of laughter and amazement, but also some shrieks of embarrassment and realisation rang true at our workshop on the day.  Teaching "sex ed" to a group of teenage girls is a great challenge for any school or parent, but our Big Sister Mentors gave it their best shot as part of the workshop component for our outing this month.  The topic of "friendships and relationships" was explored in a safe and honest environment, as the girls were led through the realisation that some friendships and relationships are better than others.  To identify the characteristics of what we might think of as "good" friends or "good" partners was a very valuable exercise for the girls to experience, and helped them to determine which friends and partners are influencing them positively in their lives.  The girls were encouraged to embrace the positive friendships and relationships, and begin to challenge those that are not so positive.

Whilst on the subject of relationships, our Little Sisters were given the opportunity to ask about and explore those traditionally taboo subjects surrounding sexuality with our resident "Big Sister Doctor", Paulette Maroun.  Once the girls had overcome their initial discomfort with the topic, it was refreshing to see them feel safe enough to ask important, sensible and intelligent questions, and then to have them receive the accurate and professional answers they need to make appropriate choices in their lives.  The topic was then opened up for more private discussion with their own Big Sisters during our regular one-on-one time.

For making our April outing and workshop such a fabulous success, our sincere thanks go to Dr Paulette Maroun, Debra Pamula, Vicki Condon, the staff at Skywalk, the Grace Hotel, and our wonderful photographer, Michelle Francis.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of the world; your playing small doesn't serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory of life that is within us.
It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.
And as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Adapted from NELSON MANDELA’s inaugural speech, 1994

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