Category: Solidarity & Compassion

Mariella Totaro-Genevois

Our group is now eleven years old. While most of its members have been active since the beginning of our project, not only have other people joined as needed, but somebody new has popped up offering help to the team when required. In other words, the group is healthy and flexible and thriving. The VDSA Lunch Group is also financed entirely by members providing the food on the day.

At the Asylum Seekers Centre (ASC) where our activity takes place, there have been some changes, for example when our lunches are scheduled one of their volunteers is assigned to us to provide a bit of help in the kitchen, and most importantly useful information regarding the equipment and/or other practical things. Another change is that the allocation of the dates for our group is not given to me at the beginning of the year but in two six months lots, which complicates the planning.

As always how many people will participate in each lunch is a guess; this year the average number has been 25-30, but any left-overs get carefully packed and eagerly taken home by the ASC’s clients, so no food is ever wasted.

In summary, especially if compared to the COVID years, in 2023 the VDSA Group has worked smoothly and successfully, leaving ASC clients looking contented and smiling after each lunch. They always thank our teams in way that makes us feel like valued support. 

In addition to the regular enthusiastic letters of thanks received from the ASC after our lunches, I wish to thank all of the group’s members warmly and strongly for their amazing contribution to our Association.  

Charity Haynes

VDSA’s work with refugees continues as usual in 2022-23 despite a reduced number of volunteers due to ill health.

Nevertheless, a lot of good work has been done with the following individuals/families:

• VDSA helped a Pakistani woman, who receives counselling from the Salvation Army’s Modern Slavery group; she has a working visa but she can’t read or write in English and is too traumatised to be able to keep a job at present;

• VDSA helped a Somali single mum who is in community detention and can’t work or study;

• VDSA helped a Tamil single mother who, having suddenly lost her young husband to heart failure, is still unable to work;

• VDSA helped a Tamil single mother still traumaised by the killing of her husband in Sri Lanka, followed by subsequent violence to herself and her son. She is unable to work; 

• VDSA helped a family of persecuted Kurds still unable to obtain a temporary visa;

• VDSA helped a Tamil family whose landlord has increased the rent enormously. They can’t afford it and they presently cannot find cheaper accommodation;

• VDSA helped a Malay stay at home mother of two very young children whose husband cannot presently find work; 

• VDSA helped a Tamil family of three. The husband is working very hard as a panel beater to make a living but it is still difficult for them to make ends meet; 

During the year VDSA volunteers organised several successful picnics with refugee families, around Coogee. Kids swam and delicious food was prepared and enjoyed.

The End of The Year Picnic in Bronte was attended by many refugees and volunteers. It is a VDSA tradition to hold the picnic in December before Christmas on the little hill behind the playbround in Bronte Park. People now know the special place, bring family and friends, there is always good food and it is a pleasure to catch up. It is a great way to make refugees feel welcome and for volunteers to feel at home with people from a different culture and background.

Since February 2023, some of the people we visit obtained their permanent visa. Others are still waiting. Others still, know that they are not going to get it. We have been focussing our material help towards the last group of refugees, knowing that psychologically and practically it is a real challenge for them. 

Lastly, we initiated a competition at Central Sydney High School with refugee youth which was successful and we intend to replicate it in the same school and in other schools including with Aboriginal students. It brings together Valerio, his writing, young refugees or Indigenous Youth, VDSA and its purpose as an Association.

Overall VDSA has really contributed to “the relief of poverty, sickness, distress or helplessness of refugees and asylum seekers”, as our Constitution sets out.

On Sunday, June 18, VDSA celebrated the grant of a permanent Visa to longstanding client and friend Nathan with a picnic at Bronte Park. Clear skies and bright sunshine made the day even more special.

This year the VDSA Lunch Project Group, nicknamed The Foodies, celebrates its 10^th birthday. The team includes approximately twenty people, and while there are members who had to leave because of life circumstances, the core of the group has remained untouched in time. Equally untouched has remained their generosity, enthusiasm, and steady collaboration in providing our monthly lunches for the clients of the ASC.

Notwithstanding also in 2022 COVID’s ongoing spectre has caused anxiety, and has required recurrent checking, revision of our schedule and some adjustments, we have managed to keep our commitment without cancelling any lunch.

Only on two occasions there was a variation in our usual routine of preparing food at home and then working at the ASC to organise the meal. In one case we prepared and delivered the full lunch menu but had to leave it at the desk for the ASC staff to take charge, and on another the VDSA offered $250 to the Centre to cover our scheduled lunch as we were unable to serve it in person.

In conclusion, and once more, the VDSA Lunch Group has been able to overcome obstacles, cope with the volatile situation created by the pandemic and fulfill our pledge, thus maintaining our successful cooperation with the ASC.

As mentioned, ten years have gone by since the Foodies began working on behalf of VDSA, and I feel deeply grateful to its members, past and present, for what we have managed to achieve together.

To The Foodies a heartfelt thank you!

Mariella Totaro-Genevois

Coordinator, VDSA Lunch Project ASC

By Charity Haynes

Visiting refugees in their homes has continued in 2021-2022 but we no longer visit the Villawood Detention Centre. Families have been helped in many ways, including rent assistance, paying for doctors bills & electricity accounts.

Highlights of visits include delicious lunches, seeing the progress of the children, several starting school for the first time & proudly showing us their school uniform & even reading us a story. For the families who moved recently to better accommodation, developments include setting up an online business to sell clothes imported from India and for another family a flourishing veggie garden, which shows how a better environment enables a more productive life. Another family, where both parents work, one of their sons has enrolled in an IT course at Macquarie University.

By contrast, those without visas cannot attend TAFE, & have no work rights. Even their children, who have attended High School here, and in one case gained an Arts Degree, are not allowed to work. The frustration caused by lack of visas leads to anxiety & many health problems.

The change of government had been a source of hope, but though there was the well publicised case of the Biloela family, the situation has worsened for others. Only last month a family was sent an ultimatum…accept an offer to go to New Zealand by 4 Oct. or return to your home country, in this case Iran. Only to be contacted a month later, after suffering a great deal of distress, to be told that the letter had been sent in error & has since been withdrawn by the Immigration Dept. Those refugees who have been in the community for over 10yrs, need safety & stability instead of living in fear. They really appreciate any support that we can give them.

VDSA has an invaluable role supporting refugees not just financially but also emotionally, such as when a mother was recently widowed, when her husband died of a heart attack, leaving her with a 6yr. old son. It is a privilege to be able to assist them, especially at such difficult times.

By Mariella Totaro-Genevois

In 2022 the VDSA Lunch Project Group for the ASC in Newtown will celebrate its 10th birthday, and notwithstanding the disruption and distress provoked by COVID-19, as I will illustrate later, there is definitely cause for being proud of its work and achievements during very difficult times.
So far, the VDSA Lunch Group has always succeeded in meeting the growing and quantitatively unpredictable demands of ASC lunch guests thanks to its unfailing and generous approach, and even during the COVID-19 new and volatile circumstances our team’s response has remained steady and productive:

1. Firstly, on three occasions the scheduled groups instead of our traditional monthly lunches, have delivered generous food and toiletries provisions to the ASC collection point. The shopping list, for a value of over $100 each time, had been compiled according to the instructions appearing on the ASC website.
2. Secondly, in March, April and May we have offered the usual lunches in Newtown, because at that stage we were allowed to do so.
3. Thirdly, when the late June NSW lockdown blocked again our cooperation with the ASC, our resourceful President, Vittoria, asked me to write a letter to the VDSA Membership with the aim of raising funds. If successful these funds would allow us to purchase food-vouchers for as many as possible refugees and asylum seekers, whose situation had become even more critical due to the prolonged lockdown.
   The response of VDSA members and friends to this appeal was astounding, in a few weeks $12,180 were received. This unexpected, substantial result has allowed VDSA not only to strengthen its assistance program for existing beneficiaries such as the ASC, but also to include a larger number of their clients who were reached directly and independently by our association.
   Finally, as the restrictions relating to COVID 19 are gradually easing, our commitment to provide regular monthly lunches for the clients of the ASC has already resumed since February, and the first face to face lunch took place on March 17. The ASC Staff really looks forward to our physical return to their premises, and our teams are equally keen to resume and continue our ‘nourishing’ collaboration with them

Visiting refugees has continued this past year despite the Omicron variant of Covid being present. The first event in 2021 was a picnic for a group living in the Auburn area, which was dominated by the youngest taking his first steps! A feature of our visits is seeing the progress of the children and the pleasure that a small gift like a book can give, plus the enormous help it is for parents to receive nappies, formula & other essentials, even a pram and school uniform as the children grow up.
A feature of last year has been the relocation of several families to new ac-commodation. This has often meant extra expenses, such as help with the bond or the need of a vacuum cleaner, since the new house has a carpet! One refugee has progressed from living in a garage, to a women’s shelter, to finally renting an apartment. Her joy has been overwhelming! Other activi-ties this year have ranged from help with translation of court documents into English, payment of car registration and TAFE fees. Nathan, who wrote a letter to us last year, has just completed a car mechanics course at TAFE and now has full time work spray painting cars. He has recently been able to move from a tiny upstairs apartment to a ground floor one with a garden and is close to a park. This has greatly benefited his wife and their two-year-old daughter.
We are still unable to visit Villawood Detention Centre, for fear of spreading Covid. This has been extremely disappointing, since a lot of the refugees have been there for many years. Phone recharge vouchers have been a great way to enable them to keep in touch with their families, lawyers, etc. One has a five-year-old son, who was only two months old when he was detained. He is very upset that his son doesn’t call him daddy but only uses his given name. He has won his court case but has not been released….no ex-planation given. Others, after ten years in detention, have been returned to their country of origin.
VDSA has an important role in supporting refugees and asylum seekers not just financially but emotionally, such as when they have accidents here or are going through difficult times, or when tragedies happen to close family members that they have left behind in their country of origin

My name is Justin [we have changed Justin’s name for anonymity and safety] from Sri Lanka. I came Australia to seek asylum by the brutal war against Tamils.
I was incarcerated at Sydney immigration residential housing between 2011 to 2016 by the reason of adverse security from ASIO. Those period of my life was limbo. I was suffering by depression, insomnia and lots of medical issues.
That time Victoria Paola, Nicoletta Alison and Megan from VDSA started to visit me. They are very kind and always encourage me to come over from those mental illness and they tried to make my spirits up.
They sent students to entertain me and others in the housing. And also they usually bring foods & fruits for us each visits and mingle with us as one of us.
Their visits made me relieving from the depression.
I have been released on 2016 to the community by ASIO, who made the decision as I am not security threat to the community.
Even though I have been released, they’re still visit and support me and keep the relationship with us as a mentor. We are impressed by Valerio’s thoughts too.
My family and I are thanking everyone who visited us and your continuous support for us. Cheers, Justin & Family

Charity Haynes for Alison Raco
Much of this year has been dominated by the Coronavirus and its impact on vulnerable people like asylum seekers highlights the importance of VDSA in their lives. All those asylum seekers and refugees living without visa or on welfare are not eligible for the government’s special benefits like JobSeeker. So, if they lost their job they were without support, and even for those that might have been eligible the process of applying was very complex. In addition, many do not have Medicare, which leaves them very vulnerable during a pandemic.
The support from VDSA to this group has taken many forms and often had unexpected benefits, such as providing Day Care support to their children. This enables the child to learn English, and so become more integrated and able to respond to visitors, and for the parent(s) it enables them to spend time on other activities, such as going to classes at TAFE (English, sewing etc.), driving lessons or taking part time work, or being able to focus on the new baby – thus a win/win for everyone. Such generosity is life changing.
Some refugees have needed ongoing support for many years while they look for work, but when they do finally get employment and are able to cope on their own, their gratefulness for having been believed in and helped to survive those difficult years is wonderful and very rewarding.
For many refugees with ill health, Coronavirus has been especially frightening, since often they do not have Medicare, so the fear of getting Covid is exacerbated. Sensible advice like not taking public transport means that essential activities like going to the Foodbank at ASRC (Newtown) or to LWB (Parramatta) becomes an added burden, if advised not to travel.
One of the big changes this year has been that visiting Villawood Detention Centre was banned since March, for fear that Covid could be spread there. This has meant that the only contact is by mobile phone. The government tried to introduce a bill banning mobile phones in detention centres. Luckily the campaign against this bill was successful, with a deciding vote from Jacqui Lambie defeating it. Many people in detention have been there several years, have partners and children in the community or back in their country of origin. So this potential cruelty to already deprived people was extremely distressing and puts our Lock Down experience in perspective.
There are however highlights even in this area, with one of the refugees in detention for 10 years being released and now living with his brother, who was more fortunate and had only stayed in detention about 5 years. It is lovely to see them reunited and able to share a couple of rooms in a rented house.
The appreciation of VDSA by therefugees is enormous but it is a two-way process, since the members of VDSA benefit and are enriched by having the opportunity of friendship with them. Celebrations of weddings, birth of babies, birthdays, picnics, and casual meetings have enabled members of VDSA to get to know them and we have benefited enormously from this.

This year brought deep and abiding sadness with the death of one of our long-serving and very active members, Nicoletta. Her absence is strongly felt. Many refugees and asylum seekers attended Nicoletta’s funeral and wrote moving tributes.

We have continued with our usual activities of visiting refugees and their families in the community. Some steadfast members visit Villawood Detention Centre as well. We provided refugees and asylum seekers with much needed funds and relief from distress, poverty and misfortune where there was most need. We have assisted them with medical, legal, pharmaceutical, rental and power bills and purchased food and groceries, phone cards, a pram, clothes, essential household items and a child safety-gate.

We provided emergency assistance to a single Tamil mother who suddenly found herself in a desperate situation with no government assistance.
We also assisted a small refugee family who had to transfer to a regional centre for two years. The father was unable to funds work at first and this was very distressing for them as they found it difficult to pay rent and buy food. After weeks of searching he has now found employment.

Some members have attended court hearings to support refugees.

From time to time we meet with ex-detainees to share a meal or go on an
outing.

A sense of hope has arisen for three refugee families who have recently celebrated the births of babies after experiencing many years of helplessness and hopelessness whilst in detention.