PILGRIMAGE
Know the past, change the future.
Pilgrimage is all about connection to country, as we journey over five days throughout NSW and ACT, meeting with Aboriginal elders and communities.
It’s an opportunity to learn about our nation’s history from a First Nations perspective, exploring culture, country and connection.
We need your help to support young people to make change
Can you help raise $15000 to transform the lives of 25 pilgrims and the communities they connect with?
Thanks to the commitment and faithfulness of people like you, a generation of young people have found hope and life on the Pilgrimage to Uluru and now in New South Wales. These transformational journeys support young people to experience connection, community, and reconciliation.
Our team has seen firsthand the impact the Pilgrimage experience has on the vulnerable young people we work with here in the western suburbs of Sydney.
Young people like Alex, Khodi, and Kai. Their experiences on the NSW Pilgrimage in 2023 were life changing. As they explored the land and the stories of its Indigenous people, they came to see history and themselves differently and were empowered with a new self-belief that they could make an impact in the world.
“Going to Pilgrimage and overcoming the fear of saying “yes” to things and putting myself out there has helped me an insane amount… being able to hear all these stories and see this sacred land that we would never be able to see if we didn’t go is AWESOME. If I didn’t go, I would never get to hear these stories.” – Alex
“We have to know the mistakes that we’ve made and not go backwards from here. We need to look at our politicians, at our people that have made mistakes, and go forward from that, to change that in the future, for the better of people and for the world.” – Khodi
“It’s all about making sure that history doesn’t repeat itself. Just because something’s happened before doesn’t mean it needs to happen again. I think that’s the best part about Pilgrimage, learning what the past mistakes were and making sure they can’t happen again.” – Kai, Kamilaroi and Dharug
For young people like Alex, Khodi and Kai, life has taught them that they will always miss out on opportunities like this and there are too many hurdles to overcome to even get on our Pilgrimage bus.
School and home are a struggle. There is no money to spare, and their own lack of self-belief means they won’t put their hand up or get involved.
Many of the young people we work with are living in communities with a lack of opportunity, high rates of unemployment and conflict within and between families.
Bullying, mental health, and family breakdown are common for young people like Alex, Khodi and Kai.
Some of these hurdles can’t be moved; but you can help them to overcome the barrier of finances.
By making a tax-deductible donation today, you can help young people like Alex, Khodi and Kai overcome the barriers they face to experiencing connection, community and reconciliation. You can help other young people learn to see the world and themselves through new eyes and be ready to bring change to the people around them.
“If you teach even just five people about what’s happened before and push them enough for them to want change, then eventually one day that five will turn into ten, ten will turn into twenty, and it will just keep going until everyone wants something different. The more people that want to change, the more likely change is going to happen.” – Kai
We know this year’s Pilgrimage can change more lives. Will you help our young people thrive?
$200 will fund the First Nations Democracy Tour of Old Parliament House in Canberra.
$500 will fund a cultural experience with a local Indigenous elder in NSW.
$600 will SPONSOR one young person to participate in the NSW Pilgrimage in 2024
For more information about the Pilgrimage:
CONTACT
Pilgrimage Co-Ordinator Kris Adams
p. 0417619165 e. kris.adams@fusion.org.au
For more information on other ways to donate:
CONTACT
Virginia Texiera
p. (02) 8805 5900 e. virginia.texeira.fusion.org.au