annual report 2010 –2011 - Multicultural Development Association

2010 – 11 Financial year service summary
Child Care Settlement Cultural Consultancy
Number of requests 207 2711 174
Volunteers
Number of CSWs provided service 87 111 62
Languages requested 49 33 23
Hours of service 2486.5 8133 1650
CSWs receive intensive induction, initial training and regular professional development.
Ongoing mentoring and coaching support further skill development.
Cultural Support Work also provides an excellent opportunity for people from culturally and
linguistically diverse backgrounds to gain valuable local work experience and build a job
network.
music was the key
An Iraqi CSW was attending a child care centre with a young girl who was struggling to settle and
to interact with other children. The CSW conducted a session where she introduced the children
to the music and dancing of her country. This proved very successful and the little girl was soon
dancing with the rest of the children and by the next visit had begun to play with other children
in the room and use a few words of English to communicate while at the centre. Great progress!
Inclusion Support Agency, Sunshine Coast
“As an Inclusion Support Facilitator I found the CSW’s very professional and supportive of the children,
families and staff. The CSW’s connected in a positive way and all staff found the support to be of great
benefit to them. The changes they found in the children and families were overwhelming and it was
so great to see all the children now settled and communicating well.”
csw work leads to job
“I have been living in Australia for three years and began looking for a job upon my arrival. I gained a
Certificate III in childcare services but still, finding meaningful work has been a great challenge.
In February this year I joined MDA and completed MDA’s training to become a CSW in childcare
services. The day that I received my first task was very exciting! I was very nervous but appreciated the
opportunity to work!!
My placement at the child care centre was very enjoyable and we could see that the child became much
more happy and settled. On the last day of my assignment, I dropped my resume into the centre. Shortly
after, I received a phone call from the centre and they offered me a casual position as a Childcare Assistant.
I am so grateful that MDA gave me this opportunity to show my skills in a new workplace, otherwise I
may have still been looking for a job.
Priya, CSW
above Senator Kate Lundy
thanks volunteer Phil Evans
Currently there are approximately 200 amazing people from all walks of life who volunteer with
the MDA Volunteer Program. We have students, retirees, former clients, mums, dads, grandmas,
grandads and people from all cultures and of all ages. Although diverse in background and
experience, all have open hearts and friendship to give our newly arrived refugees. Volunteers
often comment that they get much more out of volunteering than they give.
‘MDA is a wonderful organisation to be associated with as a volunteer and
has given me a deep sense of personal fulfilment from the very first time that I
volunteered there’
MDA Volunteer
We hit the ground running this year as the January 2011 floods saw 90% of our volunteers
working towards re-building the lives of those wiped out by the disaster. Homes were cleaned,
clients moved to safety, donations were sourced and delivered and assistance was given to
help those affected complete the mountains of paperwork to set their lives back on course.
In an effort to use the skills and talents of our volunteers and to better service the needs of
our clients and our MDA staff, many new programs have been started:
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Our volunteers offer form filling assistance to those clients applying for family reunion.
Transport assistance is provided to many newly arrived clients who need to attend
appointments in and around Brisbane. Our volunteers also lend a helping hand and
guidance on how to navigate our public transport systems.
Many of our clients look to our volunteers for social outings and we have partnered with
our life skills program and our community development teams to attend many outings
with our clients such as soccer games in the local park, film festivals, visits to South Bank,
the art galleries or walking tours around places of interest.
Our longstanding family match program has gone from strength to strength this year as our
aim is to wrap an entire team around our clients. Our family match volunteers play an integral
role as they are often the bridge to cultural understanding of Australia.
The MDA client managers await the weekly volunteer reports with anticipation as we hear
remarkable stories of friendship, family outings and our clients embracing the nuances of
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