First Light: learning how to launch a youth empowerment program in rural Australia

When Victorians Azita, Hamid and Kunal packed up their lives in Melbourne and moved to Coonamble in December 2023, they were not chasing a sea change or a quieter life, they were chasing a learning process.

Over the past two years, the trio has been learning how to walk alongside local young people and help create something hopeful, practical and lasting through a youth empowerment program titled First Light which is slowly being woven into the life of the community.

Before it officially began, the team spent weeks familiarising themselves with the town. They visited schools, community organisations and local leaders, looked for a place to live, and began meeting families. They joined holiday activities in January, listened carefully, and started building the kind of trust that cannot be rushed and which still continues. 

This beginning matters in Coonamble where opportunity and disadvantage sit side by side. Coonamble Shire is currently described by its Council as home to 3,907 people, with 34 per cent of the population identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. 

What followed was not simply another after-school activity, but a program built around connection, learning and service. First Light works with two groups: Junior Youth, aged 11 to 14, and Youth Champions, aged 15 to 24. Weekly sessions, camps, family gatherings gatherings and service projects help young people build character, strengthen practical skills and recognise that their own growth is tied to the well-being of others.

But the real impact can be seen in the stories. Young people have helped seniors with technology at the library, visited residents at Koonambil Aged Care, spent time with patients in the hospital’s long-stay unit, joined Clean Up Australia Day activities and worked in a community garden. Older participants have stepped into leadership roles, mentoring younger students, speaking on community radio and presenting to Council and other public leaders. 

Families are also drawn into the journey. Through visits in one another’s homes, workshops and shared events, parents and carers have become participants rather than spectators. In many cases, they have contributed transport, food, creative skills, encouragement and presence.

For the team who moved from Melbourne, that may be one of the most meaningful parts of the story. The First Light team did not begin with the answers but simply with a willingness to relocate, to listen, to stay, and to build something alongside the people of Coonamble rather than for them. What has grown since then is a humble beginning of an initiative shaped by trust, service and the belief that young people are the heartbeat of their community.

If you would like to support this growing work of service by giving your time, skills or resources, and or learning in action, please contact the not-for-profit charity at info@nobilities.com.au

Watch the video below: