Mamarapha College has started the year on a high note with the largest class in its history.
Fifty students have enrolled in the current study block, which began on March 6. All except one are first-year students. They are enrolled in the Diploma of Indigenous Studies (ministry) and Diploma of Indigenous Studies (Lifestyle Health Promotion), both three-year courses.
“This number has strained our facilities to the utmost. We even had to go and buy more tables but we are battling to even fit in more tables,” said Pastor David Fletcher, principal at Mamarapha, a Seventh-day Adventist Indigenous Bible college in Western Australia.
The students have come from around Australia. More than half are from WA—mostly from the remote north of the state. The second largest group is from the Northern Territory.
Pastor Don Fehlberg, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ministries’ Mamarapha liaison, said he already has another 42 students on the waiting list for next year.
“Most students say on their application forms that the reason they want to come is to learn more about Jesus and the Bible, to change their ways, and to learn how to share Jesus with their families and communities,” he said.
“It (the college) is very popular and it’s growing in momentum. It is our most successful outreach to the Aboriginal people of Australia.”
