William Campbell This is Me

 Web References

1. 1. Alive Magazine: William Campbell

   www.alivemagazine.com.au/alive - [Cached]

   Published on: 12/23/2003   Last Visited: 12/23/2003

   William Campbell did the rounds of foster care homes when he was a child - not always a positive experience. Now he has a vision to house 50 homeless children in cottages on one property and change that experience for others.
   ...
   The name of this project is the William Campbell College in Nowra Hill, and the man responsible for it is William Campbell himself.
   ...
   William feels the house parents need to be Christians so that the children are brought up with an understanding of Christian principles.
   
   As well as house parents, the children will also have secondary carers who will be known to the children as aunts and uncles. These secondary carers, who will give the house parents respite, will regularly visit the children. William places great emphasis on the importance of not having too many carers, or carers who are on shift work, as is the case in many children's institutions. "You are not going to get children to grow in spirit and emotions when they are continuously looking at different people caring for them," he says.
   ...
   William and his sisters were only able to reunite as teenagers. At age 14, when he was considered old enough to be independent and earn money, William lived in boarding houses and sometimes in the streets. "If you didn't earn enough money for your stay for the night at the boarding houses, you slept out in one of the ferries, trains, bus depots or under the bridge," he says. William's memories are painful; you can hear it in his voice, which becomes softer as he recalls those days.
   
   William says that his experiences have enabled him to see the best aspects of all the foster care models and use them in his own. He places great emphasis on the need for siblings to be together. "That's the number one priority - that's where substitute care has gone wrong from the very beginning," he states. Although the College is looking to take children from infancy up to 10 years of age, William says that, if there is a situation where one or more of the siblings are older and are accustomed to filling the role of surrogate parent, then they would not be separated from the younger children. "That would be another tragedy in itself, particularly for the older child."
   
   Second priority will be given to children who have had multiple foster care. "As they go from one foster carer to the next their behavioural patterns worsen, and a lot of those children finish up in the juvenile justice system," William says. By giving priority to children with multiple foster care experiences, he feels there is a greater chance of breaking the cycle of the children being in abusive relationships as adults, whether it be as the abused or as the abuser.
   
   William is currently in the process of finalising his application for a licence with the Department of Community Services in NSW (DOCS) to permit the college to take in children. The children, who will be provided by DOCS, will be children who are removed from their parents following a court case (wards of the state) and children who are on the waiting list for a foster home.
   
   COMMUNITY SUPPORT
   
   The amount of assistance that William has received for the college has been phenomenal. With the purchase of the land from his neighbours, William and his wife, Dawn, feel that they were given a good deal. "We explained what we were doing before we purchased it, and they were only too happy to sell it to us. It never even went on the market," he says.
   
   Since then William has received a lot of media support from local newspapers, television and radio stations that have provided free advertising for the college. That resulted in the Property Industry Foundation donating two Olympic Village cottages to the college valued at $95,000, as well as covering the cost of freight. Building materials such as concrete and bricks were donated by other organisations, and numerous volunteer builders and contractors assisted with the construction that joined the cottages to form a six-bedroom house. With such strong support from the community, William says there are plans to build another six-bedroom cottage next year.
   
   He hopes that, with long-term assistance, the college will be home for up to 50 children. "We want to involve the community in everything we do, and if we've got the community involvement and they see the growth of these children, they can look at it and say: This is good, we'd like to support it."
   
   William is touched by the support from his local community.
   ...
   William, Dawn, their daughter, Donna, and her husband, Wayne, decided to purchase the property at Nowra Hill using their own funds. They bought it in the name of the college so that it would belong to the children.
   
   William is confident the college will have a positive effect on those it cares for.
   ...
   William says the land will also educate the children about agriculture and permiculture. He plans to run some cattle and diary cows so he can teach them how to milk. He feels the animals will also help in their healing process.