Bonding session just grew
WHAT started as an afternoon father-son bonding session has quickly grown into something a Townsville dad could never have imagined, as he helps shape the lives of young kids one at a time.
Kirwan dad and doctor Zafar Smith has started a youth group for 12 and 13year-old kids to help them navigate the prickly parts of growing up, finding their path, and staying on track.
Each Friday afternoon the small group of kids and three adults meet in a park, sit, chat, and listen, offering the kids a safe space that many juveniles in a city full of youth crime don’t have.
“We are walking beside them in their journey of growing up, but not forcing them, just providing them a safe space to be able to talk and solve their own problems,” Dr Smith said. “I think when you look at these kids wrapped up in crime, a common thread is a lack of parental help, so these kids are not given the tools to navigate peer pressure and what is normal in society.
“I don’t have all the answers, but I’m empowering them and accompanying them along the way.”
Mr Zafar originally started out the sessions to spend some more time with his son, but quickly learned it wasn’t “cool” to hang out with “just Dad”.
“He doesn’t want to hang with Dad, so I recognise spending time with peers in this age group is really crucial.”
Some neighbours joined in, and then some more kids in their street, and the group has quickly blossomed into what is now known as the Junior Youth Spiritual Em
powerment Program. Dr Smith, who is a Townsville emergency doctor and university lecturer, has a lot to be proud of, but says his greatest achievement is making a difference in the lives of the kids.
“They would initially not talk very much, but what we are finding is they are really opening up and sharing quite intimate stuff about their family, issues that they’re fac
ing, peer pressure, struggles into adolescence.
“The group is supporting each other. Originally there was a lot of joking but we’ve found the group has matured and the meaningful discussions we are having are elevated.” The kids also give back to the community in an effort to look externally rather than focus on themselves.
They recently baked muf
fins for staff at Townsville University Hospital, donated toiletries to The Women’s Centre and picked up trolleys from around their area to take back to a supermarket.
Last week, they also met a Kirwan police officer who spent time with them gave them a tour of the station.
Dr Smith said the group was helping shape these children for the future.