annual report 2010 –2011 - Multicultural Development Association

Australia. Stories such as trips to local hardware centres and joining in a sausage sizzle for the
first time, or of Australia Day adventures resulting in the first sip of beer, a trip to the beach
for fish and chips or working in the tuckshop for the first time.
Brisbane Multicultural Centre (BMC)
The support and friendship of our volunteers often enables our clients to gain the confidence
to develop their own social networks in their new neighbourhoods.
2011 saw the volunteer numbers at the World Refugee Day event double from last year. The
vibe at this event is infectious with many of the volunteers staying on all day so that they
could not only support our clients and their friends but to share the fun, food and family feel
of the new and emerging communities of Brisbane.
Although an extremely busy year with lots of new programs and many new clients to support,
our volunteers have been the lynchpin of our services. We anticipate the coming year with
excitement and thank all those who have made 2011 so memorable and supportive.
New arrival helps others
Navid, a newly arrived client from Iran, was very keen to give back to his new country which he
was so proud to be a part of.
He advised that he was very experienced with computers and would be happy to volunteer in
any capacity.
Navid is now a valued volunteer who instructs women from diverse communities on how to
operate computers so that they can read emails and create documents.
Many of the women do not have literacy or numeracy skills in their own languages and to have
instruction from Navid—their teacher—has been a dream come true. Each week they are so
very proud of the homework that they have completed and can’t wait to impress Navid with
their new skills.
He has been a valuable asset to MDA in the settlement of these newly arrived clients.
Under the auspices of the Brisbane City Council, MDA formed a partnership with the Queensland
Program for Assistance for the Survivors of Torture and Trauma (QPASTT) to discuss the potential
for developing a colocated centre for culturally diverse services. Many communities contributed
their ideas. The result was an exciting initiative to develop a welcoming, professional complex
catering to the needs of Brisbane’s new and emerging multicultural communities.
The vision was to develop an integrated complex, providing community development,
health, settlement and advocacy services for recent arrivals in Brisbane. It would be the first
centre of its type in Queensland and a clear demonstration of the commitment of local and
state governments and the wider Brisbane community to cultural diversity. A property was
sourced at 28 Dibley Street, Woolloongabba which had formerly housed retail and warehouse
space. It was determined that the basic structure of the building was in good condition and
suited to a major refurbishment to recycle the building for a new use. However, much work
needed to be done.
Steve Knight of Priority Construction was appointed to oversee the project. In July 2010 the
design phase of the relocation was finalised. Following a rapid reconstruction over the following
months, MDA relocated from South Brisbane to their new headquarters in October 2010. By
2 November the office was operational thanks to fantastic teamwork and dedicated staff.
After the move to the completed office and reception area, work continued on the community
space and offices for our co-tenant, QPASTT. The community space opened in March 2011 and
QPASTT joined us in June 2011. Upstairs meeting and training rooms opened shortly after
and now, with only minor finishing and landscaping to be done, MDA is looking forward to
a formal opening of the BMC late in 2011.
right Campbell Newman
with community leaders, MDA
Vice Chair Sally Saeri and MDA
supporters
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