Following Amy Hunter’s inspiring presentation to the club in February, the volunteer group ‘Welcome to Barwon’ (W2B) has been flat out.

On 17 April, the group welcomed a young Syrian refugee family to permanently move to Australia, after being matched through the Community Refugee Sponsorship Australia Program (CRISP). Torquay Rotarian Gail Chrisfield was among those gathered at Melbourne International Airport that night, having joined W2B at the start of March.

In the weeks leading up to the family’s arrival, W2B’s nine members were kept busy. Preparations included securing temporary accommodation, sourcing household items, compiling the necessary paperwork for government and other agencies, and locating essential medical, educational and other services.

Since arriving a fortnight ago, parents Ahmed and Aye, and their children aged three and four, have settled into their first home (made possible by one W2B member temporarily relocating) and hit the ground running.

In addition to registering with Centrelink, setting up a bank account, starting English lessons and all the other tasks involved in starting a new life in Australia, W2B members have been helping the family resettle in our local community.

Efforts to date have included introducing the family to Torquay’s beaches and playgrounds, Narana Aboriginal Cultural Centre, local bus services, Victoria’s road rules and Geelong’s Islamic community.

W2B has also written to the club outlining various ways in which Torquay Rotary might support and partner with the group to resettle the family over the next 12 months. Individual Rotarians could, for example, make a tax-deductible donation to Welcome to Barwon’s Shout for Good fundraising page where more information is also available.

Stay tuned for another update soon!