CSU student working with staff & child The Program

History and Philosophy
The Charles Sturt University's (CSU) allied health courses in occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech pathology have several common key goals, including the development of an orientation to service to the community, preparation for work in culturally and linguistically diverse communities, and preparation for work in multi-disciplinary and trans-disciplinary teams.

We face considerable challenges in meeting these latter gaols, as the courses are located in Albury-Wodonga, a small, essentially mono-lingual, mono-cultural regional centre with a population of approximately 90,000. Whilst many different European languages are spoken amongst older residents due to post-World War II migration, Albury-Wodonga has a comparatively small immigrant population from Asia, SE Asia, the Middle East, the Pacific or Africa. As a result, our students (drawn mainly from rural NSW and NE Victoria) have limited opportunities to develop skills in working with culturally and linguistically diverse populations. However, on graduation they will be expected to provide services to such populations in urban, regional and rural settings across Australia and internationally. In addition, the small scale of our host communities limits opportunities for trans-disciplinary practice in the field of disability.

In order to address such attendant contextual limitations, a trans-disciplinary, intercultural placement was developed in response to a request for assistance from an orphanage for 300 children with physical disabilities in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam. The program, predicated upon successive cycles of needs assessment and negotiated input, began in 2001 and is currently in its seventh year.