A Blaxland High School program is not only teaching kids valuable skills and helping refugees, it's also winning awards.
Shaun Halden's industrial technology automotive students have been repairing old cars donated by members of the community, which are given to refugees via the Blue Mountains Refugee Support Group.
On September 20, Mr Halden accepted a humanitarian award for the school program from the Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors in Fairfield and the Refugee Council of Australia.
"Receiving the award was unexpected, but it is great to see what the students here are doing, being recognised publicly. As for me, I am glad to be making a difference," Mr Halden said.
The program has been running for about two years, with 15 cars given to refugees.
"The most memorable cars are those that have been the most challenging. These are the ones that students get the most out of and, because they are with us for the longest time, we get to know them pretty well; it is like saying goodbye to an old friend when they go to their new home, but we know that their new owners will enjoy them as much as we have," Mr Halden said.
The longest time they've worked on a car for has been nine months, and Mr Halden found it rewarding to see one student's confidence grow, as she found a solution to a particularly tricky problem with this car.
Community support has been the key to keeping the program running.
"We have been offered support from as far away as Berry and Stanmore and, in addition to the cars we have repaired here at BHS, we have helped find new homes for a number of ready to drive cars from other generous donors. New cars are always welcome, but we do sometimes run out of space to keep them though," Mr Halden said.
