Press Clippings 10

ANNA GRACE HOPKINS


CO-FOUNDER SAIL
(Sudanese Australian Integrated Learning Program)

Within weeks, word spread among the growing Sudanese refugee community that Anna Grace, along with her friend, fellow student Matthew Albert, were offering a salvation of sorts – after all, learning English would help them come to grips with life in a strange new land. The numbers turning up for the Saturday classes soared and, before long, there were more than 200 students. So, SAIL, the Sudanese Australian Integrated Learning program, was born.

“We started off just wanting to help Sudanese kids improve their literacy,” says Anna Grace, “but we realised if we worked closely with the community there was a lot more we could do. Issues such as housing, nutrition and health were also critical for people trying to adjust in a culturally different country.”

The call went out for help. Local businesses and organisations came to the party by donating books, tapes, chairs, clothes and toys for the children. The Anglican Church in Melbourne generously offered premises in which to hold classes and talks.

“Most importantly, SAIL is run on people power,” says Anna Grace. “We now have 140 volunteers helping out. We take the kids on camps and excursions, so they learn what Australia has to offer. There are art and drama classes, sports programs, and courses for women who have lost their partners to war. The Sudanese people are not victims. They have lived through terrible times – where food and water shortages were chronic,
where women and children were raped and abused as a matter of course. Their will to survive is incredible.

“To me, it’s these amazing, resilient Sudanese people who are
the inspirational ones, not me,” says Anna Grace.

“One of the Sudanese women asked our mother,‘How did you grow such a good girl?“

Nominated by:Jeremy Hopkins,brother.

To vote for Anna Grace, phone 1900 956 387.

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