How we do it

Our aim is to send Australian EC workers into an orphanage each for a three month exchange in Capetown and to bring South African EC workers back to Australia each for a three month exchange in Melbourne.

The exchange program requires us to raise funds to cover the following:

Salary for participants
Airfares for participants
Onground costs (accommodation, food etc) for participants
Insurance
Program coordination
Training and counseling before and after each secondment.
Support for Australians while overseas, and African exchange participants whilst in Australia.
Development and implementation of marketing and fundraising strategy.
Management of the incorporated association, organisational membership and activities.

Seconded early childhood staff in the first twelve months will spend up to 3 months in a selected children’s centre in Cape Town, South Africa.
A selected staff member in the South African centre or a selected early childhood student/graduate/professional will act as a buddy to help the Australian staff member become familiar with the local situation.
These are the first counterparts.
The South African counterpart will travel to Australia with the returning Australian at the end of the first 3 months. This will be the beginning of their Australian secondment.
The Australian counterpart will help the South African to settle in and together they will work with the selection committee to identify the next Australian counterpart.
The new counterpart will work with the South African to learn as much as possible before traveling with them to South Africa at the end of their Australian stay.
In this way a sustainable process will be established. Knowledge transfer will be enhanced and the induction process will begin before the counterparts leave their own country.
StarBright Learning Exchange will develop a network for people and organisations to “adopt” an orphanage and continue to send them equipment and resources such as books, puzzles and other early childhood toys and equipment.

A key objective is to assist with the building of a self-sufficient program within the South African orphanage by providing ideas and resources to the existing staff.
A careful selection process would be undertaken to ensure that those people nominating to work in Africa would have the skills, resources and empathy to effectively work with another cultural group in a different country.
We have a clear understanding that conditions in South Africa would not be the same as those they currently experience in Melbourne and that training and counseling will need to be provided to assist them to work in a very different environment.
This training program would be undertaken before they leave for South Africa to work along- side the orphanage staff and assist in the development of an early childhood program at the centre.
Similarly, African staff would undertake an orientation program before coming to work in Australia.
Evaluation is ongoing so that careful monitoring and remedial action (if required) can occur with minimum disruption to the program.
A University to be approached to undertake a research project.
Documentation of ECD aspect of program.
This project will be managed by the StarBright Committee of Management (volunteers) and the Program Manager, Karen Williams.

We are developing a long term business model to provide a continuous and ongoing stream of income. StarBright is operating a children’s early learning centre that would also incorporate our exchange training program. This centre will operate as a not-for-profit service with profits used to fund the orphanage project.
We will be seeking pro bono support and sponsorship from a number of larger Corporations and Philanthropic Trusts.
We are working towards Tax Deductibility status (DGR) and ACFID membership.
Donations from Corporations will contribute to this project as part of their social philanthropy responsibility. Corporations will be provided with information on the orphanages and the experience of the Australian staff working in the African centres. We will encourage sponsors to take an active part in the implementation of this project.