Last week the Sydney Morning Herald reported on Oasis success story Nathan Murphy.

Estranged from his parents, Nathan had been living on the street before he contacted the Salvation Army, which found a place for him in crisis accommodation at the Surry Hills Oasis  centre.

Nathan shared a business idea with John Harris, the Salvation Army’s youth liaison officer, who set him up in the Oasis centre’s ‘Champions’ program, a partnership  with Virgin which is geared towards providing young homeless people with the opportunities and skills they need to develop professionally – which John describes as a ‘hand up not a hand out’.

Today, Nathan is living in a studio apartment in the city which the Salvation Army helped him find, and has launched his own business – audiohighschool.com.au, which he had built using savings from his Centrelink payments.

Nathan plans for AudioHighSchool.com.au to develop into an online educational resource for high school students to access audio versions of course material which is conventionally presented in written format – making the most of students’ engagement with the internet and digital technologies, as well as the affordability and portability of the MP3 format.

Nathan will shortly be commencing a traineeship with Virgin Money, which will provide mentoring  and support to get his business off the ground.

You can read the whole article online here:
http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/nathans-journey-from-a-road-to-nowhere-to-the-information-super-highway-20101201-18fzg.html