What Is The Barefoot Academy?
Our Barefoot Academy is a ground-breaking educational support initiative dedicated to empowering Indigenous primary school children with knowledge about diverse industries. With a vision of equipping these young minds with valuable skills and opening doors of opportunity, this program strives to prepare them for a bright future beyond their school years.
Understanding the importance of early exposure to different industries, the Barefoot Program introduces Indigenous children to a wide array of vocational fields. Through engaging and interactive learning experiences, these young learners explore various sectors such as technology, agriculture, arts and crafts, hospitality, and more. By providing insights into different career paths, the program aims to broaden their horizons and ignite a passion for learning.
This heart-warming journey begins in Tyeishas’ hometown of Kowanyama QLD. Like any teenager, Tyeisha was ready to begin this new exciting chapter in her life. It’s an exciting, yet challenging, experience, with mum and dad back home on edge with nervous anticipation. In the capable and reassuring hands of her flight instructor, Lauren, Tyeisha learns to fly in even the most brutal weather conditions. From conducting controlled stalls at 6,000 feet through to landing in strong crosswinds, it’s weeks of gruelling training in anticipation for the quest of a lifetime: to fly from Australia’s capital, Ngunnawal Country, across to her home in Cape York, Queensland. Finally, the time comes for this ambitious trip.
With her training and theory in check, we join Tyeisha on the 13-hour flight to the Cape, flying past amazing natural wonders, with stops along the way, visiting inspiring parts of Australia. Her journey will take her over the Sydney Harbour Bridge, stopping at Longreach, QLD to visit the Qantas Museum, and she’ll drop in to visit the local school kids in the hope of showing them that their dreams can come true, just like hers. Finally, Tyeisha is home, flying into her land in a very remote part of Queensland. The moment she touches down in her ancestral lands is an emotional moment we will be there to see, as they celebrate this milestone with her. Mastering her aircraft is only the start of Tyeisha’s journey – her next ambition? To become the first Australia’s First Nations astronaut.
Team
With our sister aviation company Learn2Fly, our team at 18fifty3 group is working with pilots and instructors that excel in physical and theoretical practices to achieve our goals.
Goals
The company operates across a range of fields including facilities and asset management, aviation/aerospace, marketing and education/training. We pride ourselves on giving back to communities, Indigenous youth in STEM education programs and inspiring indigenous youth to stay in education and technical jobs.