annual report 2010 –2011 - Multicultural Development Association

Community Leaders’ Support Group
The Community Leaders’ Support Group met throughout the year. The November meeting
coincided with a White Ribbon Day event organised by some of MDA’s men. This was well
received by the leaders, who joined MDA male staff in making a pledge to actively oppose
violence against women.
Northside outreach
Outreach work at MDA’s Windsor office has increased this year. CSS case work outreach
now operates two days per week and case workers are present at many Northside network
meetings. Numerous group work sessions have taken place at the Northside office with both
the Rohingya and the Karen community. Sessions with the Rohingya women have taken place
in collaboration with the Queensland Program for Assistance for the Survivors of Torture and
Trauma (QPASTT). The wider Karen community has also been supported through a series of
citizenship training workshops after this was identified as an area of need by the community.
National Training Resource
People working with refugees need knowledge and skills distinct from and additional to
that needed for their work with other client groups. Until now, there has been no national
accredited training targeting this area. This year, MDA contributed to the development of two
new units in the National Training Framework:
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Working with Refugees (CHCSW401A: Work Effectively with Forced Migrants); and
Bicultural Work with Refugees (CHCSW402A: Undertake Bicultural Work with Forced
Migrants in Australia).
Members of the training development team were drawn from AMES Victoria, ACL/Navitas
English, Margaret Piper and Associates, supported by Department of Immigration and
Citizenship, Settlement Council of Australia, the Forum of Australian Services for Survivors of
Torture and Trauma and the Riverina Division of General Practice.
Art exhibition
This year two MDA clients and three of their friends had their art work selected for inclusion
in QPILCH’s Homeless Persons and Refugee Art Show at the Riverside Centre. All proceeds
from the sale of pieces are returned to the artist. Two Burundi women made baskets and a
number of Afghan women produced beautiful paintings. Four of the five MDA entrants sold
pieces and some of the unsold artworks have been submitted for sale in another exhibition.
One 24 year old Afghan CSS client sold a number of her works, including her painting, ‘Love
Houses’. It was heartwarming to watch the client explain to the buyer that the painting depicts
a young man who built his house close to a young woman’s house, to be forever close to her.
MDA’s Diversity Choir
Music crosses all boundaries and this project offers an enriching and positive experience
for its members and listeners. Membership includes many from new and emerging refugee
communities. Since its birth in 2008 as the Into Africa choir project, MDA’s Diversity choir has
grown in strength and expanded its repertoire of traditional and contemporary songs from
around the world. Members are encouraged to share the music of their homelands. The choir
rehearses fortnightly under the direction of Prince Williams and performed at a number of
events over the year including the Queensland Multicultural Awards, Into Africa Festival 2010,
an ABC Radio event, National Volunteer Day and the World Refugee Day Community Festival.
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