Sandow\'s boots a beacon of hope

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TO understand the magic behind the flashy orange boots worn bySouths whiz kid Chris Sandow, you have to drive three hoursnorth-west of Brisbane to the Aboriginal mission town of Cherbourg.
You head out of the city, through the mountains surrounding Gympie,Kilkivan and Goomeri, watching the countryside dry out the furtherwest you travel.
Off the Bunya Highway, there is a fork in the road.
In one direction is Murgon, the quintessential country town famousfor breeding sports stars.
The other way is Cherbourg, the mission town founded in a gully inthe 1900s. Here, some of Australia's most confronting social issuesare part of everyday life.
Cherbourg is home for 2000 people. There's plenty of good, but it'smostly the bad you hear about.
Kids as young as seven sniff petrol and glue on a daily basis,unemployment is high and domestic violence and assault are common.
Steve Renouf once had his jaw broken at a 21st birthday in the townbecause he came from Murgon, the largely "white'' town overthe hill.
Cherbourg is where Australian Schoolboys halfback Sandow was bornand raised, and why the fluorescent boots he wears in each matchhold special significance.
They are the same colour as the jumper worn by the Cherbourg juniorleague team, the boots a symbol of hope and opportunity for acommunity where life can sometimes feel like you never get dealt awinning hand.
Along with Sandow, The Sunday Telegraph made the 17-hour round trip from Sydney to the Aboriginal townlast Wednesday. From the moment our Tarago pulled up at thecommunity hall for the surprise visit, the procession of beamingfaces was overwhelming. For Sandow, 19, it seems half of Cherbourgis family.
Despite being an only child, Sandow calls dozens of locals hisbrothers and sisters. They were all raised under the same roof byhis mother, Rhonda.
"For me, it's a challenge to stay away from Cherbourg. Notonly for myself, but for all my family and friends, too,'' Sandowsaid.
"I feel like if I can prove I can do it, then other kids willsee there is opportunity.
"I love Cherbourg, it's my home, but it's always going to bethere.
"Right now I want to prove I can make it in the NRL, and if ithelps one or two kids want to follow along the way, that's great.''
Sandow is wise beyond his years. Meet his parents, Rhonda andStephen, and you will see where the discipline and level head comefrom.
Rhonda Sandow is employed by YACCA, the government-funded crimeprevention group responsible for trying to keep troubled Aboriginalyouth out of the juvenile justice system. Steering local kids awayfrom petrol and glue sniffing, as well as drugs, is part of herdaily brief.
Hard as it seems, Rhonda loves her work.
Her son wearing the orange boots in the NRL is far from Rhonda'sonly success story. If this article helps one child break theCherbourg cycle, she'll be happy.
"Cherbourg being a small community, everybody knows eachother, so when kids start to muck up, you know who they are andwhat they're up to,'' Rhonda said.
"A couple of months back we had a petrol sniffing crisis onour hands, about 50 kids doing it every day, some as young as seveninvolved, and it wasn't easy trying to get it back under control. Itry and work with the families, take the kids out into the bush oncamps, break the cycle they're in, get them involved in communityprograms.
"The kids I work with have never been to mainstream school andhave generally always been in a bit of trouble.
"If I've helped them in the slightest way, then at the end ofthe day I feel like a better person, knowing that somehow I mighthave helped these young people.''
Dubbed too small by the Broncos and the Cowboys, Sandow signed withGold Coast last season before the Titans were forced to tear up hiscontract because he was playing up.
Sandow could have easily been just another kid in Cherbourgbreaking into cars, dabbling in drugs, maybe even sniffing petrol.Instead, he's wearing a unique pair of boots in the NRL, trying toshow the local youth another way of life.
Cherbourg is split into two sides of town - Snobill, or "SnobHill'' as the locals call it, and the mission.
Venture into Snobill, where Sandow's parents live, along withChris's partner Mari and seven-month-old son Stephen, and themodest streets and homes scarcely represent the upmarket tag theycarry.
In the street Sandow calls home, local kids wearing tattered NRLshorts and jumpers kicking footballs are the only signs of life. Onthe mission side, it's a similar story ... until we ask Sandow toget out of the van and pose for a picture at the local school.Within two minutes, it's like he's sent out a smoke signal.
Men stop and honk their horns, groups of girls pace up the streetand kids flood out of houses. Sandow is only too happy to shakeeach and every hand.
Earlier at a local NAIDOC carnival celebrating Aboriginal culture,Sandow signed hundreds of autographs and spent an hour talking withhis people.
Despite all the signatures, his hand never tired. Herein lies themagic of his orange boots.
"Cherbourg colours,'' he announces proudly. In the tinyAboriginal town, they are a candle of hope.



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