New Service Aims to improve Help to Migrants and refugees
ANGLICARE Sydney’s Migrant and Refugee Service (MARS) was officially opened in Parramatta on Thursday, 30 October.
The celebrations were very colourful with Aboriginal Elder, Uncle Greg Simms conducting the welcome to country, followed by a performance from Southern Sudanese musicians Gaklan Abdalla on vocals and Mary Mamour playing a traditional drum.
ANGLICARE has been involved in providing a range of services for migrants and refugees for many decades. Various aspects of this work include English as a Second Language (ESL) Classes, Integrated Humanitarian Settlement Services, Small and Emerging Communities programs and a Southern Sudanese Project in partnership with the Federal Government.
All of these services have now been brought together at ANGLICARE Sydney’s head office in Parramatta to form the Migrant and Refugee Services unit.
ANGLICARE Sydney CEO, Peter Kell, says the combined services will better assist our culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
“This is an exciting development for ANGLICARE, bringing together a diverse group of highly experienced practitioners who collectively have many years of experience working with migrant and refugee communities, many of whom too have once been migrants or refugees themselves”.
ESL classes are a significant service facilitated within MARS. MARS Manager, Christine Ratnasingham, says the ESL partnership between MARS and the ANGLICAN Parishes across Sydney is extremely valuable.
“Sydney Parishes have been long-time partners of the ESL service. We have over 60 parishes across Sydney that host and coordinate ESL classes for many of our migrant and refugee clients. Our ESL classes could not work without the partnerships we have with Anglican Churches, which includes just over 300 volunteer teachers”.
Peter Kell and the Federal member for Reid and Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs and Settlement Services, the Hon Laurie Ferguson MP, the closed the ceremony with the cutting of a cake decorated with a map of the world. Guests were then invited to stay for morning tea and try out some of the diverse international dishes of the MARS staff and clients including Asian, Indian and African cuisine.
Ms Ratnasingham says the Migrant and Refugee Service is a step in the right direction to helping others call Australia home.
”We are confident this team will achieve great things for migrant and refugee communities in Sydney and reflect more broadly a society here in Australia that welcomes with open arms all who would call this place home.”
