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Riverside Girls High School

Riverside Girls High School

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The “Koalaket” Design Project wins the Inaugural John Kaye Social Justice Award

picture of Adina

The “Koalaket” Design Project wins the Inaugural John Kaye Social Justice Award

The Make a Difference design brief required the year 10 Design & Technology class to come up with design solutions that could improve the quality of life for a person in “need” for a single day or in the long term. The students generated a variety of creative and innovative solutions that included mobile learning buses for educating young girls in isolated and poor communities and modular housing cubicles for the homeless.

Adina Carpetian’s “Koalket” design solution included a soft koala shaped toy with a built in blanket. Adina wanted to address the needs of refugee children currently housed in refugee camps around the world. Adina’s Koalaket project was recently nominated for the John Kaye Social Justice Award.

 Adina wrote the following submission regarding her design.

“My Koalaket solution is an Aussie inspired soft toy that would be given to refugee children when they first entered a refugee camp. The Koalaket toy is designed with a pocket in the back that contains a warm fleece blanket for the child to use. The blanket will provide an extra layer of warmth and comfort on cold nights. Hopefully this small gift from the Australian people will help these children in these camps to know that they are not alone during their time of crisis and that we as Australians can make a positive difference in their lives.”

It was very exciting for Adina when she found out that she was one of the winning entries in the John Kaye Social Justice Award. Adina was presented with a framed certificate acknowledging her highly worthy “Koalaket” design solution nomination.

Leanne Abbott

TAS Teacher