Did you know that about 200 kids are currently being held by the Australian Government in
immigration detention centres?
Some are held in Australia, others on an island a long way from here called Nauru.
But lately there's been growing concern for their welfare.
A group of doctors from the Royal Children's Hospital in Victoria recently announced that
they're now refusing to return kids sent to them for treatment from
an immigration detention centre.
But why? Here's Carl.
♫ crisp, happy, electric guitar ♫
These kids are writing letters to their pen pals.
I like to cook, and when I grow older, I want to be an actor in movies.
My favourite singer's Drake, and my least favourite singer's Taylor Swift.
The drawing below is from my favourite TV show Adventure Time.
But these kids at a primary school in Melbourne haven't actually met their pen pals.
They don't even know their names.
Hi BtN, I'm Sarah, and I'm Michaela. We've been writing letters to children in Nauru!
These guys have been learning about refugees and asylum seekers in class.
And they heard that some of the kids being held on Nauru, a tiny island in the Pacific,
weren't very happy. So they joined a new program trying to help.
Lots of schools all around Australia create letters, and then the Befriend a Child in
Detention program mails them off with a book to the Nauru Detention Centre.
That's one of the places where the Australian Government sends asylum seekers who have tried
to come to Australia.
More than 600 asylum seekers are currently being held on Nauru
and that includes about 90 kids.
The government says it's safe for them to be there.
But many aid organisations disagree, and back in Australia there have been some big protests
from people like these doctors who are worried about the physical and mental health of kids
kept inside detention centres.
DR TOM CONNELL: Children from detention develop anxiety and depression. It's become so common,
that it's almost normal for children in detention to have these symptoms
And communication with the outside world can be pretty tricky. That's why getting a single
letter can make such a big difference for them.
Hello my name is Harper and I am 12 years old.
I love music, in my spare time I'm always listening to my favourite singer Ed Sheeran.
I think the program is kind of about giving the kids and adults the kind of chance to
experience what it's like to be in Australia, as we're writing about our life, they would
probably feel remembered as well
So far the program has been pretty successful! And the books they send have also been really
handy for the kids on Nauru!
Many of the children in the Detention Centre are learning English, and so it's good for
them to practice their English with books.
The children love receiving our letters, and some of them even wrote back!
So this is a painting I got from Christina in Nauru, it says 'Christina thanks you'.
So yeah, it's really nice!
Hi my name is Hiba and I love to cook.
My favourite sport is Tennis and Soccer.
Thank you for the book, I hope we meet each other.
They cried tears of joy when they figured out there were letters inside of the books.
Some of the kids here have had lots of replies
and they hope that maybe they can even meet the kids on Nauru one day.
Dear Kithu, I'm just writing to you to give you an update and say hello. Your reply was
the best thing that ever happened to me.
Thank you very much. My birthday's coming up. You are a really good pen pal.
I want them to know that they're not alone,
and that there are people out there that care for them.
I hope that you enjoy this letter and that you reply. Lots of love, I mean,
lots of smiles, from Sunny.