Eastern Multicultural News
A.B.N. 27 084 251 669 EDITION 126 – April 2012
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Eastern Multicultural News is prepared and distributed by the Migrant Information Centre
(Eastern Melbourne), Suite 2, Town Hall Hub, 27 Bank Street, Box Hill 3128, E-mail:
“Come and Play” Playgroups in Croydon and Mooroolbark
The Migrant Information Centre is facilitating the “Come and Play” playgroups for newly arrived mothers and children from refugee and family migration backgrounds. The aim of the playgroups is to bring isolated mothers with young children together, enable mothers to understand how children learn through play and provide a forum for increasing mother’s understanding and access to early childhood services that are available to them.
The Mooroolbark playgroup meets weekly during school terms from 1.30pm to 3pm on Wednesdays at the St Francis in the Fields Anglican Church, 218 Hull Road, Mooroolbark.
The Croydon playgroup meets weekly from 1.30pm to 3pm every Friday during school terms at Connections, 185 Mount Dandenong Road, Croydon.
For more information, please contact Niquita Meyers on 9285 4888 or Email .
The Mooroolbark playgroup is jointly funded by Yarra Ranges Shire and the Australian Government Department of Immigration and Citizenship under the Settlement Grants Program funding program.
The Croydon playgroup is funded by the Australian Government Department of Immigration and Citizenship under the Settlement Grants Program funding program.
Child Restraints Clinic for the Karen Community
The Migrant Information Centre in partnership with Maroondah City Council and Roadsafe Eastern Metro are holding an information session on child restraints and a child restraints clinic for the Karen community.
The information session will cover the regulations for child restraints in cars and provide demonstrations on the range of restraints and the most appropriate types for children according to age, weight and height. At the clinic professional fitters will check and fit child restraints in cars.
The information session will be held at 5pm to 7pm at the Ringwood Uniting Church, Corner Station Street and Greenwood Avenue, Ringwood on Wednesday 2nd May 2012. The clinic will be held at 3pm to 5pm on Sunday 6th May 2012 at the Croydon Hills Baptist Church, Bemboka Avenue, Croydon Hills.
For further information, please contact Judy McDougall or Esera Maung (Wednesday to Friday) on 9285 4888 or Email .
The information session and clinic is jointly funded by Maroondah City Council, Roadsafe Eastern Metro and the Australian Government Department of Immigration and Citizenship under the Settlement Grants Program funding program.
Driver Education Program
The Migrant Information Centre (Eastern Melbourne) and Victoria Police will facilitate a driving education program for people from Sudanese and Zomi backgrounds.
The program includes six weekly education sessions on road rules, how to obtain a licence and road safety requirements and a four-hour practical driving session at METEC. Participants who attend all sessions will receive 10 subsidised driving lessons with a registered driving instructor.
The program commenced on the 15th March and will continue until the 19th April 2012. Sessions are held at 6pm to 8pm at the Ringwood Uniting Church, Corner Station Street and Greenwood Avenue, Ringwood. The METEC session will be held at 10am to 2.30pm on the 21st April 2012.
For further information, please call Mehul Patel on telephone 9285 4888 or Email .
The program is funded by the Office of Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship Refugee Action Program, Victorian Road Safety Partnership Program, RACV Foundation and Victoria Police.
Driving Mentors – Volunteers Wanted
The Migrant Information Centre (Eastern Melbourne) is seeking driving mentors to volunteer for the “Community Safety Driving Program for Refugees”. The program enables newly arrived people from refugee backgrounds to practice on-road driving with a fully licensed mentor to increase their driving skills before they sit their driving test.
This program provides invaluable support for refugees who have limited or no family members and friends who can help them gain driving experience. Many refugees have settled in the outer eastern suburbs and with the exception of those living near railway stations, they have limited access to public transport after hours and on weekends. Gaining a driver’s license is important to enhance their settlement as it helps them to obtain employment and reduce their social isolation.
The Migrant Information Centre has been gifted a car that is located at the Ringwood Police Station. Learner drivers complete a six week education program on road rules and road safety, a practice driving session at METEC and 10 subsidised lessons with a qualified driving instructor before they are linked to a driving mentor for additional on-road practice. Checks are done with their driving instructor to ensure they are safe to drive with a driving mentor before they are placed on the program.
All volunteers must undertake a Police check and attend driving mentor training before being appointed as driving mentors. Volunteers who have had a drink driving conviction in the past cannot volunteer as mentor drivers.
If you would like to be a driving mentor, please contact Mervat Dahdoule on 9285 4888 or Email .
Healthy Lifestyles Programs
The Migrant Information Centre is facilitating four Healthy Lifestyles Programs for people from Arabic, Falam Chin, Iranian and Afghan and Zomi communities.
The program includes topics on a range of issues including nutrition, how the food we eat affects our health and well being, dental health and exercise.
The Arabic program commenced on the 2nd March 2012 and will continue until the 20th April 2012. The group meet at 5pm to 7pm at Knox Community Health Service, 1063 Burwood Highway, Ferntree Gully. Children are welcome and an Arabic interpreter is available.
The Falam Chin group commenced on the 5th March and will continue to the 23rd April 2012. The group meets 7pm to 8.30pm at the Ringwood Church of Christ, 11-15 Bedford Road, Ringwood.
The Iranian and Afghan group commenced on the 30th March with a tour of the Manningham Community Health Centre and will continue to meet on the 13th April and the 20th April. The sessions which commence at 3pm to 5pm at the Manningham Community Health Centre, Unit 1/1020 Doncaster Road, Doncaster, will cover nutrition and mental health and dental health and physical activity respectively.
The Zomi group commenced on the 3rd April and will continue until the 15th May 2012. The group meet at 6.30pm to 8pm on Tuesdays at EACH, 75 Patterson Street, Ringwood East.
The Healthy Lifestyles Project is funded by the Australian Government Department of Immigration and Citizenship under the Settlement Grants Program funding program.
For further information, please call Robyn Kilpatrick on telephone 9285 4888 or Email .
Industry Workshops for the Karen Community
The Migrant Information Centre is facilitating two workshops for the Karen community on the Cleaning Industry and the Retail Industry.
The workshops aim to provide an overview of the industries, the range of jobs available, working conditions, the level of English language proficiency required in order to gain employment, and the education and training pathways to employment.
The sessions will be held on the 20th and 27th April at 2.30pm to 4.30pm. The venue is Room 10, Central Ringwood Community Centre, Bedford Park, Bedford Road, Ringwood.
For further information, please contact Barbara Laug on telephone 9285 4888 or email .
The workshops are funded by the Office of Multiculturalism and Citizenship Refugee Action Program and the Australian Government Department of Immigration and Citizenship under the Settlement Grants Program funding program.
Middle Eastern Women’s Group
The Middle Eastern Women’s Group is a social group for women from Middle Eastern or Central Asian backgrounds, living in the Eastern Region of Melbourne. The next session is a healthy living session that will be held at Manningham Community Health Centre.
The session will be held at 3pm to 5pm on Friday 27th April at Manningham Community Health Service, Unit 1/ 1020 Doncaster Road, Doncaster.
Afternoon tea will be provided and women are welcome to bring their children.
For further information, please contact: Rebecca Dunsdon on phone 9285 4888 or Email .
This activity is funded by Women’s Health East through the Investing in Women Grants Program.
Small Business Program
The Migrant Information Centre is facilitating an intermediate program for newly arrived refugees who would like to start a small business in Australia.
The program includes eight weekly sessions of 2.5-hours per session on topics such as finding a market for your business, costing and pricing and making a profit, licensing, taxes and regulation. Participants of this program are expected to have a basic understanding of small business.
The first session will be held at 6pm to 8.30pm in the Visual Arts Room, Box Hill Town Hall Hub, 27 Bank Street, Box Hill on Monday 16th April 2012 and continue weekly on Monday evenings until the 4th June 2012.
Numbers are limited so to register or for further information, contact Mervat at the MIC on 9285 4888 or Email .
The program is funded by the Australian Government Department of Immigration and Citizenship under the Settlement Grants Program funding program.
Supporting CALD Volunteering in the Mainstream
The Migrant Information Centre received funding from the Lord Mayors Charitable Foundation Trust to address some of the barriers to volunteering by providing support to CALD volunteers and mainstream organizations to recruit and retain CALD volunteers. The project will provide two 8-week orientation programs for new CALD volunteers and a mentor program for mainstream volunteer involving organisations to provide support to the new volunteers. In addition the program will provide consultation to mainstream organisations about how they can modify their programs to accommodate CALD volunteers.
This project will commence in April. We are seeking new CALD volunteers to participate and mainstream organisations who are willing to be involved. For further information please contact Sharon Porteous on 9275 6905 or email .
MIC AGED & DISABILITY SERVICES
News from the MIC Aged and Disability Services
The Migrant Information Centre Aged and Disability Services implement a number of projects funded through local, state and commonwealth governments that target the aged and disability area. These include:
· Multicultural Equity and Access Program (MEAP)
· Community Partners Program (CPP)
We work closely with aged and disability service providers and individuals or groups from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds to assist with the provision of culturally appropriate services and improving access to services. To find out more please contact Sharon Porteous on 9275 6905.
Cultural Briefings and Cultural Awareness Training
Working Effectively with People from Polish, Hungarian, and Croatian CommunitiesMeeting Room 5, Maroondah Federation Estate
32 Greenwood Ave, Ringwood / Thursday 3 May 2012
9.15am to 1pm
Engaging with and Promoting your services to CALD communities
Willis Room, Whitehorse Civic Centre, Nunawading 3131 / Friday 25 May 2012
9.15am to 12.30pm
Supporting Clients from CALD Backgrounds in Referral and Assessment ALL DAY EVENT
Function Room 4, Knox Civic Centre, 511 Burwood Hwy, Wantirna / Thursday 14 June 2012
10am to 3pm
You can download the program from:
http://www.miceastmelb.com.au/documents/pdaproject/Training/MICHACCTrainingFlyer2012a.pdf.
To be on the mailing list for this and other training information please Email Wanling Zhang at .
MEAP also provides in-house training for HACC funded organisations. Training can be tailored to meet your organisation’s needs. Please contact Wanling Zhang on 9275 6904 to discuss further.
EMR CALD Aged Care Network
The next meeting of the EMR CALD Aged Care Network will be held on Thursday 31st May 2012 from 10am to 12midday in the Whitehorse Room, Box Hill Town Hall. For more information or to be added to the mailing list for the Network please contact Sharon Porteous on 9275 6905 or Email .
Community Partners Program GOOD PRACTICE FORUM
This good practice forum aims to provide agencies with information about supporting family carers from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. The forum will feature a keynote speaker, presentations highlighting good practice examples and resources. This is a fabulous opportunity to explore strategies to address the issues faced by carers from CALD backgrounds and learn about good practice examples of supporting them.
The forum will be held:
Date: Thursday 10th May 2012
Time: 9.00am to 1.00pm, lunch will be provided
Venue: Waratah Room, Whitehorse Civic Centre, 379-397 Whitehorse Road, Nunawading
For further information or to register please contact Linda Tan on telephone 9275 6906 or Email .
AGED CARE
Cultural Diversity in Ageing Conference 2012 – Stories to Inspire
The Centre for Cultural Diversity in Ageing will be holding its annual conference on 7th to 8th June 2012 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. Titled Cultural Diversity in Ageing 2012 Conference: Stories to Inspire, the two-day event will bring together people with a broad range of interests within the aged care and related sectors to explore current and future initiatives and key challenges for providing culturally inclusive care and services to Australia’s ageing migrant populations.
You can see more at www.culturaldiversity.com.au.
The conference will be held from 7th to 8th June 2012 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. Ideal for people with a broad range of interests within the aged care and related sectors, the conference will explore current and future initiatives and key challenges for providing culturally inclusive care and services to Australia’s ageing migrant population.
The two-day event will address a broad range of themes associated with the design and delivery of culturally inclusive services and showcase best practice and innovative service models. Topics will include social inclusion, elder rights, person-centred care, residential care, community care, workforce diversity, clinical care, palliative care, dementia care and carer support.
The conference theme this year is ‘Stories to Inspire’. This will provide delegates with an opportunity to take a unique and creative approach to cultural diversity in ageing, and encourage people to consider the stories of communities, workers, carers, services and of course stories of individuals.