Our learning support and mentoring programs in 90 Australian communities directly help children in need achieve their goals through education.
View all programs Education Support Changed My Life: James’s Story
Up until I was about nine or 10, we moved quite frequently. That was very isolating because you don't stay anywhere long enough to get to know anyone. You don't have any childhood friends. Each time we'd move, it'd be progressively more difficult to fit in at each school.
In this important episode for Anti-Poverty Week, we meet James Manton, an alumni of our Learning for Life program, who shares his deeply personal story of growing up in disadvantage and the impact it had on his education.
“There are always those core memories of feeling like you don't have the same things as everyone else to do the work – and you're different,” says James.
“Because there's an intrinsic understanding that if you're poor, you need to be the hardest worker in the room to just have the same opportunities as everyone else. But how can you do that? How can you be the hardest worker if you don't even have the tools to work, let alone excel at anything?”
But this episode is also about hope. James became the first in his family to attend university, graduating with a Bachelor of Business, and is now working in the banking and finance sector. He is also giving back as one of our volunteers, mentoring a high school student through our iTrack program.
Tune in to hear how timely support for his education helped James transform his life, and his insights on how we can all do better to help young people experiencing disadvantage overcome barriers to create a better future.
Conversation highlights
James talks to Doug about:- [1:31] His most memorable education moment
- [3:48] The challenges James faced as a child
- [5:49] Feeling like an outsider at school
- [7:47] The life-changing support he received for his education
- [10:05] His experiences of digital poverty
- [12:52] How the community can do better by young people
- [15:49] Why James decided to give back as a volunteer mentor
- [18:30] His message to young people facing hardship
Watch the full conversation below or listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
