The Kokoda Youth Foundation is a registered charity and non-profit organisation that runs life-changing youth programs for kids in the local Northern New South Wales and Southeast Queensland region. The Kokoda Challenge events help to raise funds and awareness for the Kokoda Youth Foundation as well as teaching the community about the history and struggles of the Kokoda trail.

These are endurance events with distances including 18km, 30km, 48km and 96km. For 2022, there will be events run at Sunshine Coast, Brisbane and Gold Coast with anticipation of more! Have you done The Challenge? Are you up for The Challenge?

Currently we run three youth programs:

The Kokoda Challenge Youth Program (KCYP) is open to all teens from all different walks of life. This experiential program involves training for Australia’s toughest team endurance event, The Kokoda Challenge, which involves walking 96kms in under 39 hours. These kids later embark on a peak trekking experience where they learn about the history of the Kokoda Campaign in 1942 as well as Indigenous history and culture. The final phase of the program teaches the importance of giving back to others through 6 months of community service through local non-profit organisations.

The On The Right Track (OTRT) youth program is run with a selected high school that focuses on helping students stay engaged in their education. This is achieved through a combination of life skills, training for the 48km Kokoda Challenge and forming connections through community service. These kids learn to overcome adversity with resilience, just like our Australian diggers did along the Kokoda Track.

The Kokoda Pathways Program (KPP) is a youth employment mentoring program that helps students discover a path for life after school. The program provides young adults with skills for the workforce and connecting them with potential job opportunities.

All of our youth programs are built on the values of The Kokoda Spirit; Courage, Endurance, Mateship, Sacrifice. Our mission is to not only help kids in the local community, but also to honour the Australian soldiers that fought for our freedom in Papua New Guinea and to educate more Australians about their story and legacy.