Many Australians draw inspiration from the story of Kokoda and from the challenge of walking the Track but few give anything back to the people of PNG.

That’s why it’s great to see that the Hawthorn Football Club has embraced the spirit of Kokoda – in word and deed. Not only have the Hawks integrated the spirit into their club culture, they have committed to play a Kokoda Game each season, with funds raised at it to be used to help educate the kids living along the Track.

The Hawks will donate funds raised at the Kokoda Game to the Kokoda Track Foundation’s Adopt An Angel Scholarship Scheme, which provides scholarship and school resources to the descendants of the beloved Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels in the Kokoda catchment area.

Hawks’ President, Jeff Kennett, and club director, Geoff Harris, are showing great leadership by initiating the project, which is in keeping with their determination to use the Kokoda spirit to inspire their players to become better men.

The Kokoda Track Foundation currently supports 156 children with primary and secondary school scholarships and provides educational supplies to 18 schools along and around the Track. The Hawks’ initiative will mean the Foundation should be able to substantially increase the number of children it supports.

The vast majority of current scholarship kids have parents who are subsistence farmers – and can’t afford school fees – or are orphans. Many of them simply would not be able to attend school without their scholarship.

It costs about $300 a year to send a child to primary school and about $1000 for secondary school. If you can afford to help the Foundation by donating an Adopt An Angel scholarship, please check out the Foundation’s website at www.kokodatrackfoundation.org