CAFÉ ENFIELD

Africans love the Café Enfield because “it is a home away from home”; a family friendly centre, a haven for new migrants and refugees. The hub of the community!

Café Enfield provides a range of activities for adults and children alike. It is a good place for individuals and families to meet other families in a non-threatening environment. And learn new skills. Or have a good cup of coffee. Or chat. Or read stories to children.

There is always something new at Café Enfield; something for everyone. A visit to the establishment is an interesting experience in its own right.

I remember my visit with fun memories. It was one of the best invitations I ever had.

In actual fact, Café Enfield is a new model of service delivery that is becoming increasingly popular with the new generation of African families in South Australia.

The result speaks for itself! Undoubtedly, it is an impressive sight to see the harmonisation of interests between the service providers and their clients at Cafe Enfield. A shared sense of purpose, of joy, and of celebration. Thanks to the efficient and effective management!

“My job at the moment is to build a good relationship with African women and children attending Café Enfield every Tuesday”, said Fran Stokes, the energetic coordinator of the program and the brain behind the Sudanese playgroup. “There is still a lot of work to be done”.

Fran has other more creative things in mind: “Eventually, I am hoping to recruit interested African women to work as care providers for the Family Day Care program”, she said in her usual ladylike and professional manner.

There are often self development opportunities for parents available at Café Enfield; including parenting workshops for new mothers, budgeting, cooking, computing, and even volunteering.

More stories on http://africanmigrants.blogspot.com/

HOME-BASED CHILDCARE BUSINESS

Access to the mainstream childcare services is an expensive proposition for the poor African families trying desperately to make a living in Australia today. And most new arrivals just cannot afford the luxury of such services.

But change is in the offing! And Fran Stokes, a concerned citizen and an experienced multicultural fieldworker, is on a mission to address the African disadvantage.

In fact, she has dedicated her life’s work to helping the new arrivals; providing quality childcare projects in the emerging African community in South Australia.

“I am so much looking forward to supporting the African community in starting their own childcare businesses and looking after African children while their mums work, study, or have a break”, Fran said, thoughtfully.

“I understand their child rearing practices are different from our own and they do not work in isolation…I believe that in time we will get the best of both worlds working in harmony”.

Thus, to make her dream come true, Fran is working closely with the African community here; building an effective relationship with the African women and children in order to facilitate change.

Fran, undoubtedly, deserves our full support.

AFRICAN FAMILY DAY

Christmas is just around the corner and the African-Australians are once again in a celebratory mood; although not all will be celebrating.

The African Community Organization of South Australia (ACOSA) presents the “African Family Day” on Sunday, 12 December 2004 at the Kilburn Community Centre, 59 Gladstone Avenue, Kilburn.

The event will kick off at 12 noon with interactive multimedia projects; focusing on the African family and culture in Australia, followed by a colorful display of children/students works.

The main theme of this year’s event is focused on African culture in transition; emphasizing the dynamics of African culture in the 21st Century.

Consequently, the “African Family Day” will feature live music, traditional and modern dance, fashion parade, arts and crafts, and refreshments.

So join the fun!

The event is co-sponsored by the Multicultural Education Committee, an advisory body for the Minister of Education and Children Services.

AFRICANS WIN REFUGEE STATUS

The Australian Immigration Minister, Senator Amanda Vanstone, is definitely on the right track, following her decision to accept 24 Ethiopian refugees from the Sudan’s Abu Rakham refugee camp.

The Africans landed in Hobart, Tasmania, a few days ago.

The new arrivals are among the 300 African refugees from the Rakham camp to be resettled in Australia recently. And more will soon follow!

KONGOR STUDENTS ASSOCIATION

There is always something new in the African community in Australia. And one of the most notable developments in recent years has been the emergence of numerous community organizations; focusing on the welfare of refugees and migrants.

For example, the Kongor Students Association (KSA) was recently formed by the new arrivals to identify and promote the interests of the Dinka speaking Sudanese students in Australia.

Thus, as the name suggests, KSA is an organization run by community conscious students who sometimes act as refugee advocates. Its members are drawn largely from the various universities and colleges throughout the land. The actual number is difficult to come by, but there are about 30 KSA members in South Australia alone.

The principal objective of the KSA is to help the young Sudanese who are still languishing in the refugee camps in Africa.

The aim is to maintain direct connection with the community associations in Africa, sponsor refugees, help them to read and write, and pay their airfares to Australia, if possible.

“We have just finished building a village library”, said Kuir, who has been a good member of the KSA since its inception. “We are now raising money for books, equipment, clothing, and writing materials for the kids”.

Thus, it goes without saying that donations from the KSA activists (and their supporters) in Australia is already making life a little more comfortable for the Sudanese kids in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya.

Meanwhile, more funds are needed for other projects which are still in pipeline.

AFRICAN CHILD-SOLDIER AT PLAY

A star is about to be born. And I am over the moon.

Goaner Tutlan, a confident Ethiopian youth, who is now in Australia, and who as a nine-year old in Africa patrolled the Ethiopian-Sudanese border with an AK-47 machine gun has vowed to play football in Australia – a major career change.

In fact, his dream may come true. The Advertiser newspaper reports that the 22-year old is ready to be picked up by the Essendon Football Club next month. History is in the making!

If successful, Goaner would be the first Ethiopian player to star in the Australian Football League.

AUSTRALIAN DREAM

It’s a long way from the city of Bor in Southern Sudan where he was born, but Gai Kur Akuei has weathered the storm (so to speak) and arrived safely in Australia this week after 12 years in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya.

For Gia, it’s a dream come true. He is now living happily in a nice suburban house in Adelaide with his wife and four children. And Johnson Juuk, an Adelaide resident, is doing an excellent job providing accommodation for the family; facilitating the re-settlement process. A show of brotherly love!

Thus, it is probably true to say that, as far as Gia is concerned, the dark days of suffering and deprivation in the refugee camp are over. And days when Gia (and his family) barely had enough to eat to keep body and soul together, are but a bitter memory.

Now, as the new reality dawns, Gia and his family can relax in the privacy of their own home and sleep well at night without fear of intimidation.

In fact, at the time of writing, they are doing just fine, both physically and mentally. Thanks to the kindness of South Australians!

Indeed, Gia’s passage to freedom was made possible through the generosity of the members of Modbury Uniting Church congregation, in South Australia, who paid the airfare, pick the family up at the Adelaide airport terminal, drove them to their new home, and show them around this wonderful city of churches, as well as helping them make sense of their new environment.

Gia’s dream is to lead a good life and experience “inner joy” and contentment.