Australia
Act for Peace in Australia
Act for Peace works with partners in Australia on healing initiatives which link refugees to church communities to generate support for resettled refugees and destitute asylum seekers without work rights, income or access to Medicare. The work includes:
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community building events such as visits by refugees to regional centres. |
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provision of travel loans to reunite families. |
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support for programs providing literacy and other skills |
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financial assistance |
Host families, volunteers and supporters develop networks of contacts and friendships with the newcomers, helping to create a healthy, multicultural society in Australia.
Act for Peace also helps coordinate the annual Festival of Refugees at Box Hill Town Hall. Please
click here to watch a video of the 2011 festival, held at St Kilda Town Hall on August 21.
"When refugees told their stories at the ecumenical gathering, “Adults wept quietly, children sat silent and wide-eyed. The impact of life’s cruelty cut deep into our comfortable lives.” – The Reverend Gail Pritchard, Victoria
While the majority of Australians are fortunate to have a high quality of life, indigenous people have been pushed to the margins of society both socially and economically. Act for Peace works in conjunction with the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ecumenical Council (NATSIEC) to increase the health and well-being of indigenous people throughout Australia. One aspect of this project is to ensure that Millennium Development Goals do not overlook indigenous people around the world, including Australia. In order to do this, NATSIEC is encouraging the Australian government to create development goals specific to the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, including a goal that, by 2015, these peoples will have living and health standards equivalent to that of the remainder of Australians.
Click here to read about how the Opening the Doors Foundation is working to bring greater educational opportunities to Indigenous children, and here to read about programs to help refugees build a new life in Australia.
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can provide a computer course, which will equip resettled refugees with valuable work skills for the future. |
