TWENTY SECOND ANNUAL REPORT
2010
SPRINGVALE NEIGHBOURHOOD HOUSE Inc.
Main House Phone: 9548 3972 Springvale Neighbourhood House Inc. Fax: 9574 0483 46-50 Queens Avenue, Springvale,VIC, 3171 Email [email protected]
Literacy Program Phone: 9574 6399 Neighbourhood Literacy Centre Fax: 9574 6907 16 Grace Park Avenue, Springvale, VIC, 3171 Email [email protected]
Website: www.snh.org.au
www.snh.org.au 1983-2010
1983 Our birth as a brand new mud brick room – beloved daughter of the Springvale Community Aid & Advice Bureau – a special meeting space for small community groups, with resources, support, advice and a „home‟ away from home. 1987 Incorporation –we gained our autonomy from the Bureau –developing a dynamic relationship with the Bureau and also with the wide world at our doorstep. 1995 We were given the Neighbourhood Literacy Centre by the City of Springvale to provide co-ordinated English language and literacy classes. 1996 We had a major role in co-ordinating the Sumnation World Cultural Festival. We ran this popular, annual Festival on behalf of the community until 2006. 2003 The All Nations Arts and Crafts Market began in the grounds around the Neighbourhood House. 2005 We celebrated our tenth Sumnation Festival on 20th. March. We celebrated our twenty first birthday on the 8th. of August. 2006 We celebrated our eleventh Sumnation Festival on 26th. March. 2007 We completed extensive alterations on the building at Queen‟s Avenue. The office area was completely remodelled. The meeting rooms and foyer were redecorated. 2008 We held a very successful Diversity Day Celebration. 2009 We held a number of wonderful excursions and celebrations. 2010 A wonderful mosaic was designed, constructed and mounted at the front of Springvale Neighbourhood House.
Some of our original members still meet at the House – they share their lives, give and receive support and friendship, resolve dilemmas, exchange advice and home remedies, and swap photos of grandchildren and holidays. New groups form, newcomers drop in to see us, new programs begin and people move on out into the community! that’s what our life is all about!
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www.snh.org.au Administrative Committee Members
Gamini Fonseka Chairperson Lakhanda Media Centre Wilfredo Zelada Treasurer Maya Community Club Carolina Ward Secretary- resigned in June 2010 United Filipino Elderly Group Nga Tekopua 1st Deputy Chairperson Blue Lagoon Polynesian Arts Mohamed Mohamed 2nd Deputy Chairperson Hararian Organisation Aliye Geleto Committee Member Australian Oromo Community Association in Victoria Likyelesh Gossa Committee Member Oromo Women‟s Association in Australia, South Pacific Region. Magda Ziadeh Committee Member Greater Dandenong Community Health Service Marama F. Qufi Committee Member Gaddisa Oromo Community in Greater Dandenong City Maria Jordanou Co-opted Committee Member Member co-opted by Springvale Neighbourhood House Committee Meteka Tumu Committee Member Rhythms of the Pacific Sofia Sanzaro Committee Member Multicultural Women‟s Group Sonia Acuna Committee Member La Voz Feminina Rita Romano Co-opted Committee Member Member co-opted by Springvale Neighbourhood House Committee
Administrative Staff
Samar Mougharbel House Co-ordinator Rebekah O'Loughlin Literacy Co-ordinator Subha Sriram Student Information and Statistics Sonia Hernandez Bookkeeper Rosemary McLeod Administration Assistant Siham Barakat Events Co-ordinator Robert Shepherd MYOB consultant Duc Nguyen IT Support Hawaa Fikak Cleaner
Administrative Volunteers
Alex Litsoudis Don McLeod Josephine Galiano-Vuocolo Maria Cruz
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www.snh.org.au Administrative Committee 2009 – 2010
Gamini Fonseka Wilfredo Zelada Carolina Ward Nga Tekopua Chairperson Treasurer Secretary 1st Deputy Chairperson
Mohamed Mohamed Aliye Geleto Likkee Gossa Magda Ziadeh Marama Qufi 2nd Deputy Committee Member Committee Member Committee Member Committee Member Chairperson
Maria Jordanou Meteka Tumu Rita Romano Sofia Sanzaro Sonia Acuna Co-opted Committee Member Co-opted Committee Member Committee Member Committee Member Committee Member
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www.snh.org.au Neighbourhood Literacy Centre Tutors Ana Diaz Christina Ewert Nai Keng Ang Ann Alvarez Erika Stahr Subha Sriram Bach Nguyen Kasia Malinowski Sue Marshall Bee Ling Goh Mary Chernishov Shirley Paterson Mystica Perera
Volunteers 2010 Bilal Succar Ken Wijekoon Salma Qubros Don McLeod Lucy Dajani Salwa Haidar Gamini Fonseka Maria Cruz Sami Qubros Helen Kallis Maria Erdeg Thabet Dajani Indra Fonseka Nga Tekopua Thushari Ariyawansa Maja Skaljic
Literacy Centre Volunteer Tutors
Abu Nasir Janice Wilson Natalie Irvine Ajab Bagga Janine Savannah Olive Lesley Menon Ajitha Vithana Jeanette Podolsky Paramesbari G Anne Miguel Jenni Page Peter Morton Ann Truscott Jennifer Dumas Priscilla Holmes Anthony Jones Scully Jim Grosset Radika T. Perera Arthur Johnson Jonvier Ayden Rita Romano Ayse Alkan Ken Nickels Roma Connell Babes Sevilla Kristine Nethers Sally Ta Bhagyalakshmi Kumudhini Nadesan Sara Lanin Brian Zoppos Lavang Nguyen Selvadurai Singaram Brunt John Les Gobbett Semra Kara Catherine Stubbs Liliana Mangoni Shaista Vereminico Chai Tze Choon Litia V. Heritage Sharon Clifford Danielle Morice Loren Knutson Sherry Watson Darren Hall Mahesh Ram Bhandary Stephani Wickramarachchi Dee Evangelista Manson E. Yanga Sumanda Jayasinghe Enza Imbrogno Martin Pettit Sunrindera Bagga Gerry McKellar Mary Chau Tanya Page Grace St. John Melinda Hamilton Terani Thomas Ingrid Besnard Michael Moore Tracey James Ivonne Jenkis Murray Farrel Tse Ha Chai Jack Edwards Nancye Jan William Feah Jackie Hagg Naseem Aziz
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Vision
To empower members of our diverse community to participate fully within Australian society.
Mission
To support and resource community groups and organisations undertaking social cultural and community development activities.
To provide Language, Literacy and Educational programs accessible to all members of our community.
Values
Community Development Diversity Accessibility Inclusiveness Resourcing Equity Respect Celebration
Statement of Purpose
1. To provide a resource centre for self-help and social action groups within the City of Greater Dandenong and for individuals from outside the city who have no self-help groups to meet their needs in their own area. 2. To direct people needing help to the most appropriate resources, and where appropriate assist them in making the necessary arrangements to obtain the help and guidance sought. 3. To co-operate closely with social and community welfare organisations, particularly those sharing the site with the Springvale Neighbourhood House Incorporated, with a view to using available services most effectively. 4. To engage and co-operate in community education programs to promote public knowledge of community services, needs and resources. 5. To raise, obtain and receive funds or other aids for the purpose of achieving the objectives of the organisation by means of subscriptions, donations, bequests, entertainments or other functions, or by any other means. 6. To apply the capital and income of the organisation towards the objectives of the organisation. 7. To invest any monies of the organisation and hold investments of same. 8. To do all such lawful things as are incidental or conducive to the achievements of the foregoing objectives or any of them. 9. To affiliate with other bodies which have similar objectives.
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Thank you! We acknowledge support from
City of Greater Dandenong (C.G.D.) Adult, Community & Further Education (A.C.F.E.) Department of Planning and Community Development (D.P.C.D.) Victorian Multicultural Commission (V.M.C.)
In Partnership with
Springvale Community Aid and Advice Bureau (S.C.A.A.B.) Springvale Monash Legal Service ( S.M.L.S.) Springvale Learning and Activities Centre (S.L.A.C.) Adult Community Education Vic. (A.C.E.Vic) Association of Neighbourhood Houses &Learning Centres (A.N.H.L.C.) English Language & Literacy Access (E.L.L.A.) Dandenong Community Health Sevices Springvale Dandenong & Springvale Library Dandenong Neighbourhood House (D.N.H.) Jan Wilson Community Centre (J.W.C.C.) Keysborough Learning Centre (K.L.C.) Noble Park Community Centre (N. P.C C.) Wellsprings for Women South Eastern Advisory & Advocacy Council (S.E A A C.) Victoria Police (Vic. Pol.) Australian Federal Police (A.F.P.) Leader Community Newspapers The Journal Newspaper Star Community Newspapers Big Boys Pizza A1 Bakery, Dandenong Baladi Products
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The Chairperson's Report
As the Chairperson of the Springvale Neighbourhood House for the last six years I would like to say big thank you for the support you have given me to discharge my duties smoothly. The year 2010 is not just another year. As usual we have done lot of good things for the community. Before you enter our house you can see your identity which you brought from your country. From that our house is not only showing your identity, also we are endorsing how much we are supporting the multiculturalism in this country. As you know our house is your house without any discrimination. For nearly a quarter of a century we have maintained that policy. That is why all of you are happy to use this house as your own for the benefit of your community. Keep it up. We are here to support you, and you are here to guide us. We need your creative ideas to maintain the future of the house and we are ready to listen. I don‟t want to go through one by one on what we have done this year. When you read this annual report you may get the clear and correct picture of this house. To conclude I take this opportunity to thank my colleagues in the board, staff, tutors, volunteers, the users of the house and well wishers, especially to the City of Greater Dandenong and the funding bodies, who helped our house to do such a marvellous service for our community. Hoping for your continued support to this house, and let me wish you a prosperous future.
Gamini Fonseka J.P.
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www.snh.org.au House Coordinator’s Report
Every year is a very special year at Springvale Neighbourhood House (SNH) and 2009-2010 was no exception. The SNH is a hub for more than 50 different community groups to meet, celebrate, learn, obtain services and plan for their own activities. We have thought hard about different ways to help all the community groups who are members of SNH and also the community groups who are non members but they have a strong association with our House. We are engaged in different programs and activities that are of great interest to our groups. We value our Diversity highly; in this respect we celebrated together all our achievements during the Diversity Day. We worked with you to achieve better understanding on multicultural issues and settlements services. On your behalf we attended different consultations and meetings. We also attended different professional development to improve our skills so we can assist you better. To ensure that SNH remains viable, well funded and resourced and continues to grow, develop and respond to community needs, our admin staff, tutors and Committee members worked together to develop and deliver the following strategic directions and commitments: 1. Community Support: we are committed to support existing and new emerging community groups, as well as, participants in general activities and programs; 2. Celebrations: We have organised and participated in many cultural and traditional celebrations to encourage harmony between cultural groups and to promote better understanding of diversity and multiculturalism; 3. Partnership programs and activities: We formed partnerships with other agencies to explore potential programs and activities that could be adopted and implemented by SNH; 4. Networking and Promotion: We participated in different events and activities with the aim to raise the overall profile of the organisation; 5. Governance: the Administrative Committee oversee the compliance of the implementation of SNH programs and activities with policies and requirements of funded agencies; 6. Programs and Activities: We developed new initiatives/programs based on your suggestions and recommendation; and 7. Education: the Literacy Centre team provided quality programs and services which are relevant to the local community‟s needs, in partnership with the City of Greater Dandenong Literacy Cluster. Details are provided on page 49 of this report.
This report is a review of one year, day by day, month by month; I hope you‟ll find it informative and interesting.
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Community Support
Membership and Bookings This year 55 groups have joined our House. The community groups continue to use all our rooms in both venues on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. The House is offering an accessible, friendly and supportive place for the community groups to meet and conduct their social, cultural, recreational and educational activities. We work with them to create a healthier, happier and more empowered mix of people who are busy adapting to new environments, coping with new challenges and learning new skills. Groups could become members by selecting any level of the following categories: Regular membership; Occasional and/or private; and Community organisation. The House reached full capacity in terms of booking of both venues. Operating under the three categories permitted us to work in a flexible and easy manner to meet the groups‟ needs and requirements. Some groups have left and others have joined. Our friendly staff are always happy to provide support to those groups who seek resources, like photocopying etc.. A list of all member groups is attached at the end of this report.
NLC bookings for Community Groups The City of Greater Dandenong advised us of the relocation of the Literacy Program into the Maternal and Child Health Centre in Lightwood Road in Springvale. As a result of this relocation, SNH will not be capable to provide meeting spaces to community groups. Hence, starting January 2011 twelve community groups who use the Literacy Centre to meet will be relocated to the main House or other locations depending on the availability of the rooms. The Queen’s Avenue location is already fully booked in the evenings. The committee has proposed to offer first available space if there is any at the main House; however if this option is not suitable, the staff at SNH will work with you to find a suitable venue somewhere else.
Participation and engagement by group members in house activities Measurement of people through the door for the year 2009-2010: 37,977 persons Total Financial members 19,477 Training 1,000 Occasional bookings (Saturday night) 700 Other activities 200 Reception 1000 NLC 15,600 Total 37,977
Students Placement Every year the House invites students from a local TAFE and local organisations to do a practical work experience. The placement provides the students with an opportunity to undertake activities in a work setting and forms part of their formal requirements. Students who have completed their placement at SNH are: Alimamy San Koh who was studying a diploma in Community Development at Chisholm Institute, Dandenong was accepted to do his placement in our office for 220 hours. His placement took place from July to October 2009.
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Helen Kallis who was studying a Certificate II in Business was also accepted to do her placement in our office and to learn about admin support work.
Both students were engaged in many different activities, including networking, office and administrative work.
Volunteers This year the House was supported by a large number of volunteers (304) who were involved in program delivery. The average volunteers‟ contribution to the program per week was 874 Hours.
The members of the Admin Committee continue to provide valuable services voluntarily to the House. Examples of committee participation: Monthly committee meetings Signing formal applications Finance support IT support Decision making Participating in local events
Ongoing support and Community Programs The House maintains a strong focus on supporting community programs and activities. This year again we supported a number of groups to apply for government funds and we auspiced a few good projects including: Table Tennis Senior Club, funded by City of Greater Dandenong The Tennis Seniors Club provides sport activities to seniors and pensioners. The Table Tennis Seniors meet every Saturday. The Table Tennis Seniors Club obtained funding from the CGD to cover the cost of the hall hire at SLAC. Multicultural Women Group, funded by VMC The Multicultural Women‟s Group obtained funding under the multicultural senior citizens organisational support, to cover their general administrative and organisational costs such as rent, stationery, insurance, travel costs, catering, utilities, phone etc. The Borio-Anatolie video production project, funded by VMC The project involves producing a documentary film by Costa Athanassiou & Alex Litsoudis. The documentary is a short film titled "who Is He?". The film is on the life of a Greek person, with some disability (Alex) who‟s been living in Springvale since 1969, (6 month old). The film is a message to the general community on life experience of a person with disability from Ethnic background. The film aims to increase awarness of people with disability in the ethnic communities in the City of Greater Dandenong. Enterprise Project The Enterprise Hostel Exhibition Project team obtained funding from the VMC, the CGD and Lexington Gardens to help meet the costs of establishing the exhibition at the Springvale Historical Society premises. The Department of Planning and Community Development also allocated some funding to develop a website so that the exhibition can always be available for people to access. They are also negotiating to find ways in which they can commemorate Enterprise in some way in Springvale.
Inaugural Eid Al-Adha Celebrations in the South East A special community event to celebrate Eid Al-Adha. The event is organised in partnership by the Kingston City Council and South Eastern Muslim Families group. Members from the local community enjoyed a picnic lunch with music and performances from community groups, rides and activities for all ages.
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Celebrations and Special Events
Starting in August 2009 the Swimming Project Steering Committee together with the Oasis Leisure Swim Centre in Dandenong celebrated the end of the “Women's Only Swimming” project. The event was very successful with over 180 women attended including the Mayor of the City of Greater Dandenong Cr Pinar Yesil and Cr Roz Blades. The event was free of charge. In September we celebrated Adult Learners Week. Tutors and students joined other members of the CGD Cluster of the Neighbourhood Houses and Learning Centres and many other organisations to celebrate the achievements of many adults who are involved in this program. On 12 December, we celebrated the end of the 2009 and the launch of the first stage of the “Capturing Journeys through Mosaic” project. The day brought our members together to enjoy wonderful cultural food, lovely music played by the Au Hau Musical Group and to commemorate the great achievements of 2009 at SNH. We were honoured by the presence of Cr Roz Blades to unveil the mosaic panels for the public to enjoy. Also, in December we celebrated the end of the SEAAC project, Together Through Theatre, to acknowledge the young participants effort during this project. Continuation of this project depends on receiving more funding next year. In March we staged our traditional celebration “Celebrate Our Diversity Day 2010” in conjunction with The Springvale Mandarin Network. The event was very successful where over 300 people attended and participated in the event activities. The Springvale Mandarin Network worked hard in the kitchen to pack the lunch bags. Eight community groups placed stalls that display their work, and general information was provided to the community by nine service providers‟ stalls. There were wonderful Lebanese songs by Mr. Nizar Al-Ashkar, English songs from Bradley Marshall and songs from Mt. Hira College students. There was also Chinese classical music from the Au Hua Musical Group and Chinese Cultural dance from the Springvale Mandarin Support Network. The Mayor of the City of Greater Dandenong, Cr. Jim Memeti, Cr. Roz Blades, Commander Ashley Dickinson APM of Victoria Police and a representative from the Federal Police attended the event.
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In May and during Neighbourhood House Week, Springvale Neighbourhood House participated in the Activities Day at Dandenong Library organised by ELLA. We had 4 stalls for us and some of our groups to display their art and crafts works, La Voz Feminina, Cook Island Women‟s Association and Friends. Many members of the House attended the event and participated in the Laughter, Bollywood & Belly Dancing Workshops.
Partnership Programs and Activities
Face to Face: Unity within Diversity- The Story of Springvale Last year the City of Greater Dandenong has initiated a three year community arts project called Face to Face. The aim of this project is to capture the everyday life in one of Australia‟s most diverse urban communities of Springvale. The SNH was invited to be part of the Project Management Team (PMT) that consists of ten leading agencies plus council staff and the Community Reference Group (CRG). The PMT has the responsibility to deliver the project. The project has a direct engagement with people of all ages and backgrounds, who live, work and visit Springvale. This group of people provides a window of how they see and think about their community. The project is helping participants to come „face to face‟ with their own fears and prejudices, and learn how to see through the eyes of others. Some of our members who have been involved participated in telling the stories in their own words and captured on film. They have also had portrait photographs taken in their home or work environment.
The Community Strengthening and Participation Project This project aims to strengthen and support volunteerism in the Community, the CGD secured funding from DPCD to run accredited volunteer training programs tailored to meet the needs of the existing and future volunteer base community. SNH was invited to be part of this project to provide assistance and to promote the training among our members and our networks and to advise training organisers about sensitivities applicable to their own group/s. SNH also provided the House facilities for the delivery of some training programs. The Partnerships Evaluation project reference group wrap up meeting was on Tuesday 11th August. The council has increased its budget for community training, in particular the governance training, so they can still deliver some training although at a much reduced level of funding. The Council is still happy to use our venues to deliver the required training.
The Southern Ethnic Advisory & Advocacy Council (SEAAC) „Youth Without Borders Project‟ Funded by DIAC under “Diverse Australian Program”, the project aims to address issues of cultural, racial and religious intolerance affecting culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) youth in the South East region of Melbourne. The program which delivered from SNH for the 6 months was very successful with 15 youth participated each week. The facilitator taught them new drama games and sports activities Participants also learned how to develop respect and friendship and a sense of belonging amongst diverse youth aged 15-25. The activities brought young people together to interact and socialise on an equal basis and in a supportive environment.
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www.snh.org.au Ethnic Community Council of Victoria (ECCV) Multicultural Youth Engagement Policy Paper SNH provided assistance to Dr Ahmed El-Moussa from ECCV to conduct a consultation with some of our groups who run activities for youth. Dr El-Moussa is writing a policy paper on the challenges facing youth in CALD communities. The communities that were represented at the consultation were from the Maori, Cook Islander, Burmese, Hazaras, Oromo, Hararian, Eritrean, Sudanese and South East African Women‟s network. Questions that were addressed by the consultation: 1. What are the challenges facing youth in your communities? 2. Which areas do you consider the most important? 3. What is the most effective way to engage youth in public participation? 4. What kind of practical ideas for action do you think we need to consider? The position paper aims to highlight the challenges experienced by migrant groups when accessing council sports facilities, affordable community outdoor spaces like sporting grounds, council land and indoor sporting venues. To support the consultation we invited the president of the Sports Without Borders, James Demetriou, to assist in securing some funding opportunities to cover sports activities. The Sports Without Borders is a not for profit organisation which is dedicated to providing support for young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds who are involved or want to get involved in sport. The meeting with Dr Ahmed El-Moussa, James Demetrio and community leaders identified different issues and needs. The outcome of the policy paper will be covered in more detail in next year‟s report.
Corner Partnership As part of the partnership agreement of Osborne Avenue and Queens Avenue, Springvale Community Aid & Advice Bureau (SCAAB), Springvale Monash Legal Service (SMLS), Springvale Learning Activities Centre (SLAC), and Springvale Neighbourhood House (SNH), conducted several meetings during the year to discuss and plan different activities, some of the highlights of those meetings include: The Old Court House, Springvale (Feasibility Study) The study was funded by the Community Support Fund to explore the feasibility of its conversion to a Multi Use Multi Cultural Community facility. It was recommended that a conversion for this purpose would be physically feasible and the report suggested ball park costs to renovate plus possible management models if it were to become a reality. Eight community groups who are members of the House were invited to participate. Unfortunately a decision has been made by the State Government to dispose off the property. Meeting with City of Greater Dandenong managers The four organisations arranged to meet with City of Greater Dandenong managers to brief them about each of our services and plans for 2010 and to look at strategic planning for this site.
New MOU between SLAC and SNH A new Memorandum of Understanding with Springvale Learning and Activities Centre (SLAC) to host students‟ placement. The SNH will provide facilities to accommodate and support the students as the work available is suitable to their requirements.
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Victoria Police SNH hosted the PACMAC for the June 2009 Meeting. The meeting was attended by different community leaders and PACMAC members. The Chief Commissioner Simon Overland also attended the meeting. In partnership with the SNH, Dandenong Police station held the Inaugural Region 5 (South East) Iftar Dinner at the House on Friday 28th August 2009 at 5.30pm. Assistant Commissioner Paul Evans APM was the guest speaker. The dinner was a successful opportunity for our members to meet with the local police officers and to learn more about the Islamic culture. Senior Constable Maha Sukkar worked with us to finalise all arrangements.
2009 Victorian Awards for Excellence in Multicultural Affairs In recognition of their endless support, the Springvale Neighbourhood House endorsed two nominations, Ms Giuseppina Galiano from the Multicultural Women Group and Mrs Likelesh Gossa from Oromo Women‟s Association in Australia, South Pacific Region. Both members received the Meritorious Service to the Community Award.
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Networking and Promotion
House staff and Committee participated in different activities where we had the chance to raise the overall profile of the organisation.
Conferences and Professional Training ECCV, Family Violence Forum, Melbourne. Interfaith Conference, Dandenong. The Brainfood Conference, Ballarat, Victoria. FECCA 2009 Conference, Shepparton, Victoria. Board Builders Conference at Moonee Ponds. 2009 Parliament of the World Religions, Melbourne ANHLC Conference, Sale. Cluster PD at the Brahma Kumaris retreat DPCD Disability Action Plan, Dandenong ACFE Forums We also participated in general community activities including: Australia Burma Society, AGM Filipino Elderly Women Group, AGM Walk for Harmony, Melbourne VMC Grants Presentation Ceremony, Oakleigh The AFP Iftar Dinner Launch of the Report, Perceptions of Multiculturalism & Security in Vic. The Victorian Multicultural Award for Excellence, Melbourne Step By Step, a documentary film that captures the fascinating development of two groups of young Sudanese refugees in Melbourne Launch of the Enterprise Hostel website, Lexington Garden SBS Radio interview re Celebrate Our Diversity Day event. VMC Gala Dinner Volunteers Awards Ceremony, SCAAB Australian Bureau of Statistic, The Victorian Census Office Canberra and Melbourne, re initial planning work for the 2011 Census, also they discussed with us feedback on experiences with the 2006 Census and the issues that they need to be prepared for during the Census next year. SCAAB, Multicultural Multiuse Centre, Consultation meeting Whole of Government Report Consultation, Dandenong Consultation meeting to explore the experience of young Muslim Australians, University of Technology of Sydney, Melbourne CGD Futures Direction Plan Meeting CGD, phone consultation on the strategic planning for the CGD libraries City of Kingston, Re the Women‟s Only Swimming Project. Chisholm Institute, 'Feasibility Study in to the establishment of a Chisholm Student Careers and Job Search Hub for CALD and YEAR 12 completers' CGD, Recreation Development, issues discussed: Feedback in regards to recreation activities/programs that community groups undertake or would like to undertake. Programs and community groups that utilise the Neighbourhood house. The proposed programs at Dandenong Oasis and Noble Park Swim Centre.
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Boards and Committees Committee member, Police and Community Multicultural Advisory Committee (PACMAC), Vic Police. Vice Chair, Springvale Community Aid and Advisory Bureau (SCAAB). Member, City of Greater Dandenong Cluster of Neighbourhood Houses and Community Centres. Member, Reference Group, Youth Without Borders Project Member, Project Management Team, Face to Face: Unity within Diversity- The Story of Springvale
Number of agencies involved with: African Holistic Settlement Service and Eastern and Central Africa Communities of Victoria AMES Australian Federal Police Cambodian Association Centrelink Chisholm TAFE, Dandenong, Moorabbin and Frankston City of Greater Dandenong City of Dandenong Cluster of Neighbourhood Houses and Learning Centres . Dandenong Neighbourhood House (DNH) . Jan Wilson Community Centre (JWCC) . Keysborough Learning Centre (KLC) . Wellsprings for Women . Noble Park Community Centre (NPCC) . Springvale Learning and Activities Centre (SLAC) Consumer Affairs Victoria Dandenong Library ELLA, Dandenong & Springvale Equal Opportunity Commission Victoria Ethnic Communities Council of the South East, (ECCOSE) Foundation House Greater Dandenong Community Health Service, (Springvale & Dandenong) Interfaith Network, City of Greater Dandenong Local Catering Services Multicultural Arts Victoria Multicultural Centre for Women‟s Health New Hope Migrant and Refugee Centre Ourcommunity.com Refugee Council of Australia South Eastern Region, Migrant Resource Centre, (SER,MRC) Springvale Community Aid & Advice Bureau (SCAAB) Springvale Library Springvale Monash Legal Service (SMLS) Victorian Multicultural Commission Vic Police Workers Coalition YMCA, Oasis Swimming Centre
Type of involvement Partnership projects, community consultation, language and literacy cluster program delivery, networking, training, advertising and publicity
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Governance
The Administrative Committee oversee the compliance of the implementation of SNH programs and activities with policies and requirements of funded agencies; This year the admin committee worked on few different activities
Policy writing The committee contracted Wendy Davies from Manufacturing Learning in Australia, to review the policies and procedures for the Neighbourhood house and the Literacy centre, suggestions was made to: A. Hire someone to put our policies in order B. Talk to other community houses about policies C. Check the VCOSS Manual and the Network Manual for examples of policies. The committee then appointed Siham Barakat to review and to rewrite the policies.
Business Plan A draft of the Business Plan for the next three years has been completed. However, suggestions to review the Business plan which is due next year were made by committee members during different committee meetings.
Budget 2010/2011 A special sub-committee was formed to discuss the budget.
Chairs Forum with CGD The Chairperson forum with CGD was a good place to network with other Houses and they all agreed to meet again. Representatives from all the CGD Houses and Community Centres attended the forum.
Committee members Resignation Carolina Ward resigned from the Administrative Committee in June.
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Programs and Activities
Last September the staffing subcommittee appointed Siham Barakat as the new Activities Coordinator. Siham assisted in the organising and the delivery of SNH special projects and events. The activities and programs that were developed opened up opportunities for networking and community contact between all members of SNH. This year again we delivered a wide range of activities and programs. We organised: Guest speakers to different community groups from different service providers Regular social events among member groups. The following activities and events represent some of the ideas collected from your expressions of interest. Special activities Women‟s Health sessions A health nurse from Southern Health delivered an information session aimed at women‟s issues. The session was extremely informative.
Nutrition Sessions A dietician from, Greater Dandenong Community Health Services, Springvale, delivered information sessions aimed to improve women‟s health.
Mother‟s Day Lunch The Mother‟s Day Lunch was held in May. All participants enjoyed a lovely lunch, prizes and some other activities. It was an opportunity for the members of the House to meet each other and make new friends.
Pancake Day In February 2010 SNH held the Pancake Day as part of our general activities to encourage participation and inclusion and valuing diversity. We provided the members of the House with another opportunity to get together in a shared activity. They all enjoyed a delicious Pancake meal and involved in good discussions on different cultural events. Thirty-four people came representing several different groups. The pancakes were delicious. An amount of $170 was raised for Uniting Care, a group which helps local people in our community suffering disadvantage and poverty.
Excursions In November, SNH organised a trip for members to the Rhododendron Gardens in Olinda where they enjoyed the magnificent view of scenic botanic gardens.
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www.snh.org.au We started the month of December with an enjoyable day trip to the Mornington Peninsula where members enjoyed the taste of fresh cherries and strawberries in Red Hill and Sunny Ridge.
Member‟s Monthly Meetings The monthly meetings are held for all the groups to discuss any issues they might have when using the SNH. This also presents an opportunity for them to learn and engage with the other groups of the House. Each group has the opportunity to promote an upcoming event for their community that they may be holding or to learn from other communities‟ activities.
Sow the Seeds of Togetherness Projects Project 1: Capturing Journeys with Mosaic Project 2: Journeys with threads project: “The SNH Banner”. Funding of $10,000.00 for this project was secured, $5,000 from the CGD, General Support Program and $ 5,000 from the VMC, Strengthening Multicultural Communities. The objective of the project was to develop a strong sense of community togetherness and work towards combating the often felt feelings of isolation experienced by refugees and migrants. Throughout this project the members of the house who come from diverse backgrounds were able to embrace greater harmony as a community and have cross cultural understanding. With the assistance and creative ideas of the graphic designer Ms Claudia Liberati the first stage of the project was completed with a great success. The second stage of the project provides an opportunity to work together through fabric, painting, sewing or needlework etc. Unfortunately we couldn‟t complete the project on time, and this is scheduled to be completed this year and we aim to provide further details on this project in next year‟s report.
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Achievements
SEAAC, Together Through Theatre, end of project Celebration SNH received a Certificate of Appreciation from the Multicultural Homework Support Program 2009 for our support and dedication to this project.
SCAAB At the volunteer‟s week Celebration Samar received an award from SCAAB for being a volunteer on the Committee of Management. Samar held the position of the Vice President on the SCAAB board. The award is to recognise our support and dedication to SCAAB.
CWCC Course In December 2009 I completed a Diploma of Business Management
Swimming Project The Oasis Swimming Centre adopted the program and decided to continue the provision of women only swimming sessions on a weekly basis. We were approached by City of Dandenong and City of Kingston to speak about our experience during the delivery of the project.
Acknowledgements
I would like to acknowledge the following people for their support to all our activities and programs “Women's Only Swimming” project Thank you to the Steering Committee, Carolina Ward, Nga Tekopua, Maha Sukkar, Kerry Foladkar, Rihab Abouzolf, Ilham Jama and Stella Lado. Thanks also to: All participants who participated in this program; The staff and management of the Oasis Leisure Swim Centre, Dandenong; Cr Pinar Yesil; The Mayor of the City of Greater Dandenong and Cr Roz Blades for accepting our invitation to attend the end of the project celebration; The Blue Lagoon who made a wonderful entertainment. Most importantly; The Victorian Multicultural Commission who made this project a reality by providing the funding. The end of the 2009 and the launch of the first stage of the “Capturing Journeys through Mosaic” project. Thank you to All the volunteers who worked so hard to finalise the Mosaic project on time for the launch, The Au Hau Musical Group who played a wonderful music; and Baladi Catering for providing the catering service.
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www.snh.org.au Celebrate Our Diversity Day 2010 event Many thanks to all the volunteers, Sue Jarvis, Costa Athanassiou, community services, community groups and the community performers. Also thanks to: A1 Bakery who provided us with the most delicious food; SLAC for providing the hall; The VMC for providing the fund. The Mayor of the City of Greater Dandenong, Cr. Jim Memeti, Cr. Roz Blades;, Commander Ashley Dickinson APM of Victoria Police; and Alan smith from the Australian Federal Police community liaison team for attending the event. I also would like to thank Victoria police for a wonderful support and partnership CGD, DPCD, ACFE, VMC for their continuous funding The committee members for their time and commitment in giving the staff the appropriate direction and support whenever they needed it. All the community groups leaders for being so supportive to our activities My thanks are also extended to To all SNH staff: Duc Nguyen, Hawaa Fikak, Rosemary McLeod, Siham Barakat, Sonia Hernandez Literacy program: Rebekah, tutors and all the volunteers Admin Volunteers: Don McLeod, Maria Cruz, Robert Shepherd from Management Measures for continuing his support with financial queries Finally, I would like to wish all of you a wonderful Festive Season as well as an exciting and safe holiday break with your families. I look forward to our continuous association in 2010-2011.
Samar Mougharbel. House Coordinator
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www.snh.org.au Treasurer’s Report
The audited financial report for the financial year 2009-2010 included in this annual report presents the income and expenditure for the year and the financial position as at 30th June 2010. The financial report indicates that in the year 2009-2010 the House received from different sources a total of $534,961, which was allocated to meet expenses in delivering literacy and language programs, supporting the myriad of group members based at the House and staging community events in partnership with other local organisations. Along 2009-2010, the house has supported over 50 different group members by providing them meeting space, facilities for celebrations, music and dance rehearsal space, faith gatherings, opportunities for socialising and enjoyment as well the coordination and delivery of community celebrations and projects, which encourages active engagement of members from the local community participating in social, cultural and community development activities carried out through Springvale Neighbourhood House. A total of 43,600 student contact hours have been delivered along the year empowering participants with literacy and English language skills. The sources of funds received in 2009-2010 are: ACFE – Adult Community and Further Education - to deliver literacy and language programs. Funds are received on the basis of agreed dollars per student contact hours. State Government – Neighbourhood House‟s Coordination Program – Department of Planning and Community Development – Victoria. Funds are received for coordination and management on the basis of 30 hours per week which must generate a minimum of 114 hours per week of community participation and engagement. COGD – City of Greater Dandenong – Funds are received for coordination and management of the House and the Literacy Centre. Community Contribution is represented by annual membership fees paid by group members, contributions from groups using the rooms at the House and the Literacy Centre, student fees, reimbursement of expenses from activities in partnership with other centres and interest earned on cash deposits. Other – Special Projects. Funds are received for special projects delivered through the House. These funds were carefully monitored and allocated to: Staff Costs – Wages, allowances superannuation, Worksafe premiums and professional development for coordinators, tutors and administrative staff. Admin and Support – expenses incurred to manage the day to day activities as well as to resource the groups based at the House and the Literacy Centre. Special Projects – Costs other than wages to complete special projects and community celebrations. Accumulated Reserves – annual results of House‟s operations.
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A summary of all sources and allocation of funds is presented in the following table and graphs.
Summary – Source and Allocation of Funds 2009-2010 (Thousand A$)
SOURCE ALLOCATION 2010 2009 % 2010 2009 % ACFE 322.2 295.6 60 Staff Costs 400.0 384.3 75 State Government 62.1 62.3 12 Admin and Support 88.3 91.1 17 COGD 54.3 51.3 15 Special Projects 33.2 43.4 6 Community Accumulated Contribution 80.1 80.2 10 Reserves 13.4 0.5 2 Other – Special Projects 16.2 29.9 3 Total 534.9 519.3 100 Total 534.9 519.3 100
SOUCE OF FUNDS ALLOCATION OF FUNDS
Other - Projects Accum Reserves COGD Pro ject s
A d min & R eso urcing Community Contrib
ACFE State Govt Staff Costs
As Treasurer of the Springvale Neighbourhood House I feel so honoured and proud of being part of the team elected by the Annual General Meeting to manage the affairs of the house during 2009-2010. Our achievements have been possible thanks to the continuous support of our funding bodies and the invaluable support of our team of paid staff, volunteers, students and every single group member who are making a reality the vision and mission of this wonderful organisation.
Wilfredo Zelada
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www.snh.org.au Community Awards. Each year members of Springvale Neighbourhood House are invited to nominate people from our community to receive awards for outstanding service to their groups and the wider community. The winners for 2010 are:
Community Battler of the Year Award (Long Term)
Mrs. Vilma Sermeno Group: Amigas Unidas
Mr. Ramon Lozano Group: A. A. Resureccion
Community Battler of the Year Award
Mrs. Aziza Ficak Group: El-Ehssan Group
Mr. Denys Goldthorpe Group: Australia Burma Society
Volunteer Tutor Award
Ms. Ann Truscott
Student Award
Ms. Bunna Soeurn
Congratulations to these very special members of our House. Thank you for your enormous contribution to our Community!
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www.snh.org.au Group Reports 2010 A A Resurreccion The A A Resurreccion Group has seven members. This year we celebrated the 75th anniversary of A. A. in the world. During the year we gained two new members in our group. The house provides us with good amenities. The House could help us by telling other Spanish speaking people in the community that we have regular meetings every Saturday at 5.00pm in the House. In the future we plan to connect with more people in the Spanish community to help them.
ADEC, Arabic Carers’ Support Group The ADEC Arabic Carers‟ Group meets each month. We have twelve members who enjoy social activities together such as celebrating birthdays, painting on canvas, jewellery making and participating in information sessions. All activities during the year were excellent. The House can continue to support us by providing the venue and making people feel happy and comfortable.
ADEC Turkish Carers’ Support Group The ADEC Turkish Carers‟ Group South meets each month at the House. There are twenty six members who attend regularly. The people they care for sometimes attend with them. The activities of our group during the year include attending information sessions presented by Southern Respite. The group also attended an outing to the Turkish theatre, the trout farm and the Flower and Garden Show at the Exhibition buildings.
The group attended three weekly sessions about Stigma Reduction in Mental Health. They loved the Stigma Reduction package because they were able to speak out for the first time about Mental Health issues. The photos show how much they enjoyed all the outings. The group does not use the Literacy Centre because of language barriers but what I have been doing in each meeting is taking in one of the flyers and translating what the service is about. This gives them some knowledge of extra services. The Turkish Carer‟s Group is very happy with everything the House provides, thank you very much. Our plans for the future are to continue talking about our feelings and mental health every time we meet. We will have Centrelink over for an information session, go to the Dandenongs and visit some flower nurseries. We will do a cooking class of a different culture. We will go out somewhere for Carers‟ Week in October and hold an end of year party for December.
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www.snh.org.au ADEC, Vietnamese Carers’ Support Group The Vietnamese Carers‟ Group-Adec meets regularly and has twenty members. The main activities of our group during the year have included meeting and sharing information about Disability Services. We have held information sessions with other Disability Service Providers. We have also arranged social activities for carers such as leisure and fitness sessions. The best thing our group has done this year has been to meet with the Parent Support Group in the Eastern Region. Our plans for the future will be made at our meeting in November.
Al-Ehssan Support Group The Al-Ehssan Support Group has ten members who meet weekly to read. The best thing our group has done this year is the Mosaic Project. The House helps us by providing a place to meet together. If possible we would like the House to provide lockers and to replace the whiteboard.
Al-Emaan Muslim Women’s Group The Al-Emaan Muslim Women‟s Group has ten members. Our main activities have been learning and socializing. This year we enjoyed joining in the celebration of Diversity Day. The House helps our group by providing a friendly and safe environment for our meetings. We plan to encourage more people to join our sessions.
Amigos Unidas Amigas Unidas has ten members who meet regularly to engage in art and craft activities which include sewing and knitting. We also socialize. The best achievement this year has been keeping our group together. We organized a three day trip to Phillip Island to celebrate Mothers‟ Day. We visited a restaurant too. The House helps us because we hold our meetings there and we receive invitations to events where we show people what we do! The House can help us by letting us know about activities so we can participate and be active. For the future we plan to keep going with our activities so we won‟t be alone and we can fight the stress and depression caused by loneliness.
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www.snh.org.au Arab Women’s Group The Arab Women‟s Group has met regularly every week at the House for many years. The group has eight members. The activities of the group are mainly social and provide friendship and companionship for the members. The best thing the group has done during the past year has been to participate in preparing the mosaic wall outside the House. We also enjoyed taking part in the Diversity Day celebrations. For the future we plan to keep going as we did in past years. Our members are very happy to come and join in any House activities.
Australia Burma Society The Australia-Burma Society Inc. has 112 members. The main activities of our group during the year include our Multicultural Homework Support Program, monthly Community Round Table discussion meetings, Burma New Year Celebrations, our Sports for Diverse Young People Program, the Melbourne Lantern Festival and conducting information and training sessions. We have done an extremely excellent job in holding the Melbourne Thingyan & Youth Week 2010 Event. Over 700 participants attended the event that gave an opportunity for our community members to work together in planning, organizing and promoting the event. It also provided an opportunity to a whole range of people to interact and build relationships. This social inclusion activity is the best event that we ever hold.
The House provides a safe and warm facility to young people to study their homework. The House Coordinator, Samar Mougharbel has been assisting our diverse community members since our group was formed. The House also provided assistance as necessary during the homework program and information workshop. In the future we plan to provide other life skill training to our community members, particularly families who have recently arrived from Burma.
Australian Chinese Musical Band The Australian Chinese Musical Band has ten members. The main activities of our group during the year included several Chinese Music Performances. We performed at: Springvale Lunar New Year Celebration Glen Waverley Lunar New Year Celebration Diversity Day at SNH Watsonia Library for students and parents World Trade Centre for Chinese Museum Exhibition opening Boxhill Community Centre The best thing our group has done this year was to participate in the SNH Diversity Day celebrations. For the future we hope to participate in more voluntary activities.
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www.snh.org.au Australian Oromo Community in Victoria The Australian Oromo Community Association in Victoria (AOCAV) is a unique community organization established in 1984. AOCAV‟s vision is an empowered Oromo community that is able to fully integrate within the wider Australian society. At the Oromo Community AGM in July 2009, more than 150 members attended and democratically elected five talented individuals as their new management committee. Lead by the charismatic Aliye Geleto, who was elected as the President, the new management committee consists of Karim Degal, Awal Adem, Aisha Ali and Toltu Tufa. The team‟s objectives are to improve the community‟s image, provide relevant services as well as consolidating ties amongst various groups to encourage social and cultural interaction within the community. The following are some of the achievements the team has managed between July 2009 and July 2010: Enabled Oromos to join thousands of Victorians on Walk for Harmony Day (12 July 2009) to celebrate multiculturalism, oppose racism and support diversity in Victoria. Assisted the Melbourne Oromo Youth Association (MOYA) to organise a snow trip to Mt. Buller 09/08/2009. Organised Oromo Awards Night (15/08/2009) to appreciate the voluntary service volunteers have provided for the Oromo community since its establishment in 1984. Started a Pilot Project (02/09/2009) to implement a trial program that incorporates Oromo literature as a part of the Royal Women‟s Hospital‟s experience for Oromo women.
Held a Community Consultations Day (21 November 2009), which helped produce the Community Strategic Plan 2009 – 2012 Organised an Oromo Graduation Ceremony (13/12/2009) at Flemington Community Centre. Organised Oromia at Federation Square festival (20/12/2009) to celebrate, commemorate and showcase the beauty of Oromo culture. Organised the 7th Annual Oromo Soccer Tournament, December 2009 – January 2010. Enabled Oromo volunteers to showcase musical performances at the City of Greater Dandenong, City of Maribyrnong as well as attending the new & emerging communities‟ reception organised by the City of Yarra and the Victoria Police during the 2010 Cultural Diversity Week (March 2010). Enabled Oromo community delegates from Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane to meet in Canberra with representatives from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) to discuss the vast number of issues regarding the current level of persecution towards the Oromo people. Organised community peace rally to highlight the continuing violation of basic human rights of the Oromos to the Australian government and Australian people.
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www.snh.org.au Organized a Consultation Session (12/06/2010) to discuss the various issues that currently face the Oromo community. Enabled the Oromos in Victoria to farewell the Socceroos before their departure for FIFA World Cup 2010 by attending the farewell match between the New Zealand All-Whites and the Socceroos at the MCG (24/05/2010).
Borio Anatolie Hello again, As you aware I did the first stage of the documentary film late last year. Now we are waiting for an announcement from VMC telling us whether we will receive help with the second stage of the process. It is an anxious time but it is worth the wait. While we are busy preparing for the second stage, I am putting in submissions to the City of Greater Dandenong for the launch of the film early next year. It will be at the Drum Theatre. The launch will be my first one for quite a while and I am very excited to go on. If all goes well, as the song goes, “we are on the road again”. Alex Litsoudis
Cook Islands Women’s Federation of Victoria Incorporated. The Cook Islands Women‟s Federation of Victoria Incorporated has forty two members. The main activities of our group during the year have included March 6th 2010-The “Women‟s Inter-national Day Of Prayer,” which was hosted by the Cook Islands Presbyterian Fellowship Alabaster Women‟s Ministry. There were about 300+ women, men, youth and children present during the fellowship, followed by entertainment from various women‟s group. To end that big celebration of the Women‟s Day of Prayer, a big supper was catered on the night for all who came along to support this event. On March next year 2011, our host will be the “Jesus the Living Water” Apostolic Women‟s Ministry, and we look forward to meet up with every woman who wishes to attend the Women‟s International Day of Prayer. The Cook Islands Day Tour to Shepparton was one of the highlight of the year. We enjoyed seeing quite a lot of astonishing places in the country-side and came back with a lot shopping groceries from the SPC warehouse. It‟s a tour that cannot be forgotten. Speakers from various departments of the Kingston Council came to speak on certain topics to help our Cook Islands women in their walk of life to stand up for themselves and be good leaders in the future for the community and abroad by taking advance training in Leadership and short courses. Mosaic Project: A Project we have done for the first time gave us an opportunity to use our skills.
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www.snh.org.au The best thing our group has done this year was to get involved in group activities, do visitation to our women and elderly people who cannot attend our weekly activities at the Springvale Neighbourhood House, and secondly we have increased our numbers of ladies attending our group work every week. We really appreciated the usage of the House for our group in order for our members to run programs like listening to speakers and attending workshops such as Arts and Crafts and Health Programs. The House can continue to support us by providing us with updates of any events that take place in the House or Literacy Centre. Our group‟s plans for the future include: Running workshops in regards to Nutrition, Health & Lifestyle and provide further support as required. Attending the Global Setting for Leadership Development course. Developing a peer education model to support future projects in our community Reviewing the transport needs of our women in the community and exploring transport options available to meet our needs. Organizing a Multi-Cultural festival within our community and Pacific Islanders, together with those from different nationalities to be part of this celebration that will bring peace and harmony to everyone.
Cook Islands Senior Citizens The Cook Islands Senior Citizens‟ Group has twenty five members. During the year we have enjoyed excursions, played cards and attended weekly meetings. We have also made donations to the Aitutaki Cyclone Relief Fund and helped pay for funerals. The House supports us by providing a meeting room and community information. For the future we plan to run more excursions and trips to other states. We also plan to visit other groups and do some fundraising.
Enterprise Migrant Hostel History Project When the Enterprise Hostel Exhibition came to Springvale many people asked that it remain permanently in Springvale. But that wasn‟t possible for many reasons. Instead we decided to look for funding to enable a website to be created which would contain material from the exhibition and information and photos which we had not been able to include in the exhibition. We approached the Victorian Multicultural Commission and, once again they generously supported this great Springvale project. Sandy Kouroupidis from Solid Strategies was contracted to develop the website for us. Sandy had extraordinary patience as he worked with us to design and put everything on the website. He was extremely generous with his time and produced a website which is so easy to negotiate despite the huge amount of information it contains. We are so grateful to have had the benefit of his very special skills. The website address is www.enterprisehostel.org
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www.snh.org.au We launched the website at a very special function at Lexington Gardens on 23 February. Lexington Gardens management generously hosted the event which was attended by more than 100 people. We are very grateful for all the support we have received from Lexington Gardens over the past 2 years. Salvador Castro lived at Enterprise when he first arrived in Australia. He came back after the Hostel closed and took some beautiful photos which he has given to Lexington Gardens where they are now hanging in the bar. At the launch he spoke briefly about his time at Enterprise and why he took those photos. He then presented a replica of the plaque which was unveiled at the official opening of the Enterprise Hostel to John Beus, now a resident at Lexington Gardens but previously one of the significant St Vincent de Paul workers at Enterprise. So what is next? We have now received funding to consult with the community about what we should have as a permanent public acknowledgement of the magnificent contribution made by Enterprise and the many thousands of refugees and migrants who have lived and worked in the area. That consultation will take place over the next six months. We are looking forward to gathering many wonderful ideas.
Friends The Friends group has forty members. We meet regularly for parties and outings. We also produce a newsletter for our members. The best thing we held in the past year was our New Year‟s Eve party. The House could help us by providing easier party bookings. For the future we plan to continue with our activities.
Gaddisa Oromo Community in Greater Dandenong City The Gaddisa Oromo Group has thirteen members who meet at Springvale Neighbourhood House. The main activities of our group during the year include welfare and social activities. The best thing our group has done this year is to hold meetings on a regular basis at the centre. The House and Literacy Centre help our group by being very accessible, available and reliable. The staff are always friendly and supportive. The House can continue to help our group by facilitating the connection, relationship, correlation and network with other community groups. The House can help us to participate in common events. Our plans for the future are to actively participate in the development of the House and Literacy Centre, for mutual benefits.
Hararian Organisation (Saturday) The Hararian Organization has 200 hundred members. The main activities of the group have been to teach Hararian culture, to provide educational support to primary and secondary students and to organize events for our youth and our elderly members. Our major achievement has to been to achieve our goals. The House can continue to support us by providing access to a computer or photo copier so that we can provide material for the homework groups. Our plan for the future is to maintain the connection between Hararians living here to their heritage and to be decent responsible citizens.
Hararian Organisation (Sunday) The Hararian Organization has ninety-eight members. During the past year we have held many cultural functions, organized weekend sporting activities, provided educational support for our children and arranged occasional outings for members. This year we arranged excursions for both our elderly members and our youth. We took our elderly members to Geelong to view the gardens and to enjoy a picnic. We organised soccer and volley ball games for our youth. Our greatest achievement has been to help our students to excel academically. The Springvale Neighbourhood House helps us by providing an excellent venue for our activities. The House could help us more by providing volunteer teachers to support our students. Our organization plans to guide our children along the right path away from drugs and alcohol.
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www.snh.org.au Hararian Organisation Homework Group (Wednesday) The Hararian Organisation Homework Group has twenty members. The main activity of our group during the year has been to assist under privileged students with their school work. All the students achieved a wonderful result to make their parents and teachers happy. The House helps us by providing us with a venue for all of our activities. The staff members of the House make it easy for us to assist these under privileged students. The House could assist us by allowing us to access to the internet if possible .We would also appreciate access to additional resources such as printing or photo copying. Our plan for the future is simply to continue to assist these students to reach their ultimate potential.
Kumon Kumon meets twice a week at Springvale Neighbourhood House to provide educational services to the community. The House and Literacy Centre help our group by providing a convenient and comfortable environment to facilitate and further the students‟ learning and progress. The House can possibly help spread the benefits of the Kumon programme. In the future Kumon plans to further enhance the advantages and benefits of Kumon educational services.
La Voz Femenina The La Voz Femenina Group has thirty members. Our main activities are craft and textile activities. This year we knitted beanies for patients of the Chemotherapy Unit in Moorabbin. The House helps us by providing the hall for us to meet once a week. The House can help us by continuing to provide the hall and allowing us to enjoy the House. We plan to continue our current activities and to learn new things.
Lak Handa Media Centre (Elderly Group) The Lak Handa Media Centre (Elderly Group) meets weekly and has twenty five members. The best activity our group held this year was celebrating the Sinhalese New Year. The group also participated in Cultural Diversity Week, organized lectures, seminars and fundraising activities. The group was also involved in the Sri Lankan Food Fair.
Dr Duleep Mendis is advising to the members of the Lak Handa Elderly Group re. health issues
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www.snh.org.au Maya Dance Group – School of Dance
A colourful and vibrant folkloric dance group that presents traditional and contemporary dances from El Salvador and Central America, the Maya Dance Group has been performing in various festivals and multicultural events since 1989 and has always enjoyed participating in these events as it gives the group the opportunity to showcase their culture through traditional dances. Our aim is to take our audience on a journey whilst teaching them the richness of El Salvadorean culture! For more information about our group you can contact Lissette Zelada –Director on 0412 648547 or you can write to us email: [email protected]
Dance Teachers Dancers Alba Granados Tanya Weston Clarissa Iraheta Elizabeth Villalta Emily Weston Melissa Lopez Lidia Granados Jessica Amaya Vinicio Zelada Sara Guardado Paola Amaya
Multicultural Women’s Group The Multicultural Women‟s Group is a seniors support and social group. We are 18-20 members. We all come together weekly to be part of a community that share similar interests, and to enjoy social activities together. Our group offers information sessions with guest speakers on Health, Government and Community Services. We also have monthly outings to restaurants, picnics, BBQ and excursions to the City. This year we plan to visit the Melbourne Museum to see the Titanic Artifact Exhibition and also the Immigration Museum. Earlier this year we held a Kaszazz Photo Scrapbooking workshop which was great. All members were so quiet and busy on the day, concentrating on developing their own artistic creations. The Multicultural Women‟s Group enjoys meeting at the Springvale Neighbourhood House. It is like a second home to us all. We wish to thank the management and staff for their help, assistance and support throughout the years.
Kathy Iannarella Secretary M.W.G.
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www.snh.org.au Multicultural Women’s Sewing Group The Multicultural Women‟s Sewing Group meets twice a week at the Neighbourhood Literacy Centre. The group has twenty members. The members are learning to sew garments and also new craft activities including card making, flower arranging, embroidery, knitting and crocheting. The group has made beautiful garments and have knitted cardigans. The group has also been tutoring beginners in English. The Literacy Centre helps us by supplying tea and coffee and providing photocopying. The staff is very friendly and helpful. The House could help us by providing additional storage places. We plan to continue
to improve our activities.
Oromo Women’s Association in Victoria South Pacific Region. The Oromo Women‟s Association in Victoria South Pacific Region works to support refugees in Ethiopia. We write letters of support to any where any time for refugees from Ethiopia, and for refugees suffering in the camps. Sometimes we send money for people who have been re-settled in Australia and elsewhere. We help them to buy tickets for transport and provide other help also. The Oromo Women‟s Association is not very active at the moment due to illness. During 2009, the Oromo Women`s Association held cultural events at which we displayed cultural dance, food, music, clothing and the coffee ceremony. In future, if it is the will of God, we will find the right person to be on the sub-committee in the South Eastern Region Oromo Women‟s Association for Victoria.
Salvadorean Australian Association. The Salvadorian-Australian Association Inc. has twenty members. The aim of our group during the year has been to keep our community together. This year we have helped the El Salvador Hurricane IDA with the El Salvador General Consulate and other Salvadorian Organisations. The Literacy Centre helps our group by providing a place to have our meetings. The House can continue to help us by providing facilities and promoting our multiculturalism. In the future we plan to work hard.
Senior Slavic Citizens Club. The Senior Slavic Citizens Club has twenty one members. The group holds regular fortnightly meetings, group outings, information sessions and enjoys informal visiting. The group is very supportive of each other in times of need. We plan to continue as we are for a long time into the future.
7 Valley Ensemble The 7 Valley Ensemble (Persian Classical Music Band) has six to eight members who meet weekly to teach and practice music. We have been performing music all around Melbourne this year. We have performed to celebrate the Iranian New Year and for Baha‟i communities all around Melbourne. We play old Persian music and have been performing for the last few years.
We thank the House for the support we receive. For the future we plan to get better and better and perform for the communities and try to put a smile on any one who will hear us play the music
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www.snh.org.au Slavic Women’s Group, Relaxum. The Relaxum Group has twenty members. The members meet fortnightly for general social meetings, to hold information sessions and to enjoy occasional outings. Members of the group join with other groups in the House to work on projects such as the Mosaic Project. The House provides support and advice as required. We plan to continue our regular activities.
Somaliland Women and Youth Inc. The Somaliland Women and Youth Inc. group has 50 women, men and child members. The main activities of our group during the year included running sewing and social groups and planning for Eid day and end of Ramadan celebrations. During the year we had a lot of group meetings about raising money for poor people in Africa and celebrations for Independence Day. The House could assist us by helping to apply for grants. For the future we plan to hold more activities for young boys and girls and even young mothers.
South Eastern Region Melbourne Oromo Community (SERMOCAVA) The South Eastern Region Melbourne Oromo Community Association in Victoria-Australia Inc. has 200 members. The main activities of our group during the year have included a. Teaching Oromo language, culture, history etc. b. Planning for an event on Oromo National Day, which will be open for all communities around Dandenong City. The people with diabetes, youth, and single mothers will be the greatest beneficiaries. c. Holding every month an executive committee meeting and every three months a members‟ meeting, d. Holding a recreation tour at least four times a year for our youth and sport club. e. Conducting our health team program for teaching, counselling and ensuring primary health for all as needed. Because of the services I mentioned above, which we delivered on time we connected our members with the basic Australian way of life and integrated with others in the community associations. As a result our members doubled and increased every day. We are very happy with the services provided by Springvale Neighbourhood House. Since every year the numbers in each of our groups will increase we will need more time to use for meetings.
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Southern Ethnic Advisory and Advocacy Council.
SEAAC meets regularly at Springvale Neighbourhood House. Three programs are run. They are the Homework Support Program – 20 students and 5 volunteers, Together Through Theatre – 60 people and Youth Without Borders – 60 members. During the year SEAAC in partnership with the Australia-Burma Society has provided the CMY Multicultural Homework Support Program for secondary students at the House. The House is accessible for students studying in the area, and provides a safe and educational space for young people to seek assistance from our valuable volunteers. In 2009, the second half of Together Through Theatre program invited youths to participate in theatre sports to build friendships, communication and confidence. Theatre Sports is making stories through improvisation. There is no script and relies on actors working in a team environment to support each other. The Together Through Sports End of Year celebration was a success with 60 attendees. SEAAC would like to thank the Diverse Australia Program, the Steering Committee, and the youths who participated in the 12 month program. For 2010, SEAAC ran the Youth Without Borders program which is a fun and interactive cultural exchange project funded by the Australian Government‟s Diverse Australia Program, which brought youths in the South-Eastern region of Melbourne together to learn about other cultures, addressing false beliefs and stereotypes, increasing contact and co-operation among groups who would otherwise have limited interaction.
The Together Through Theatre End of year celebration was a fantastic event which had the support of the City of Greater Dandenong, AMES and SNH. The youths who participated in the program were acknowledged. There were performances from the Centre for Culture, the Ethnicity & Health Youth group, the Rapping group, the Burmese Youth Band, Black Sky and Theatre Sports.
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The Springvale Neighbourhood House has a provided a safe, fun and accessible space for youths to attend our programs. In future, SEAAC will be running the Participation, Information and Engagement (PIE) Program funded by the City of Greater Dandenong. This program will involve theatre sports with information sharing about issues concerning youths today.
United Filipino Elderly Group Highlights of the Year (2009 – 2010) The Filipino Elderly Group is a group of over 35 regular members, established in July 1995. Six elected officials meet regularly with other committee members with a focus on offering support, education and recreational activities to its members. Our members have been offered health & welfare discussion groups, talks from professionals and other opportunities to develop our own cultural activities such as cooking, dance and other performances. We also organise home visits to people who are unable to come to us. Our regular meetings are held on the first Saturday of every month at the Springvale Neighbourhood House. The main activities for our group during the year have included: Performing Cultural Dances on different occasions Outings throughout the year Enjoying social interaction with each other Learning new skills – practical, healthy cooking This year we have held special meetings, which allowed our members to take part in cooking and crafts, as well as sewing Filipino costumes for cultural dance events. The Springvale Neighbourhood House has helped our group by providing us with a venue for a meeting place every first Saturday of the month. We are happy with the way the House staff treat our group with respect and dignity. Our group is an active participant within the Greater Dandenong community in particular, with culturally diverse activities. One of the main highlights of the year was the 17th Anniversary Celebration, held at the Springvale Community Centre on Saturday 6th of March 2010. We invited VMC Commissioner Ms. Samar Mougharbel as a special guest and Councillor of Greater Dandenong Ms. Roz Blades. We also celebrated the Elderly „Christmas in July‟ at the Springvale Neighbourhood House. This day was full of grace and success.
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www.snh.org.au Our group attended the Feast of San Lorenzo Ruiz. This event was held on 27th September 2009 at St Brigid Church in North Fitzroy. We also had election on the 3rd of October 2009. We held our Christmas Celebration and Kris Kringle on the 5th of December 2009. Our group attended the Mass & Procession of Our Lady of Perpetual Help & Santo Niño Mother & Child. The celebration of the newly built Shrine at the Ta Pinu Marian Centre in Bacchus Marsh was held on 12th December 2009. Filipino Elderly members have been on a day outing to Crown Casino. The Elderly performed the Traditional Sinulog Dance held at St. Andrew‟s Parish Church at 72 Springs Rd Clayton South on 17th of January 2010. The 17th Anniversary Celebration of the United Filipino Elderly Group will be on March 17th, 2010. Lena Ward President, United Filipino Elderly Group
Ventana Hispana (Spanish Window) Ventana Hispana (Spanish Window) Inc meets weekly at Springvale Neighbourhood House. We have 120 members. The current activities of our Organization are: Computer lessons in Spanish for adults and elderly people. English lessons Group support Food Bank Welfare: casework, referral, etc. Home visiting Visit and support for people in hospitals or aged care residences Information sessions Housing Support Program The best thing our group has done this year has been to build an organization which provides services to the community. We have created a bridge that is incorporating people with linguistic barriers in to Australian society. The House enables us to establish groups and activities. The House can help us by providing a venue in which to provide activities after hours for people who are working during the day. For the future we plan to continue with the work we are doing.
Victorian Avicultural Council The Victorian Avicultural Council is one of twenty-one affiliated Clubs/Societies. The V.A.C. mediates with all of the State and Federal Environmental departments on behalf of all our affiliates. During the past year the V.A.C. organized fourteen Bird Sales for our affiliates and started to work with the Department of Sustainability and Environment to review the Wildlife Regulations. The Literacy Centre provides a central venue for our affiliates to attend meetings. We plan to keep doing what we do best which is to advise Governments on the concerns of our affiliates.
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www.snh.org.au LITERACY CENTRE CO-ORDINATOR‟S REPORT 2009-2010 ENGLISH CLASESS Over the past twelve months we have had 35 programs averaging 400 students per week and 43,600 student contact hours for the year. Thank you to all the tutors for their valuable work. A big thank you to the volunteer tutors. Your valuable time and effort is appreciated. All English classes are full and in high demand during most periods of the year. The following classes are run at the Literacy Centre: Springvale Neighbourhood Literacy Centre CSWE 1 Levels I – Subha Sriram CSWE Level II and III – Subha Sriram Pre CSWE-Bee Ling Goh CSWE II-Mystica Perera Conversation: Beginners – Ann Truscot Advanced – Peter Morton Life Skills – Sue Marshall Springvale Learning and Activities Centre Pre CSWE – Bee Ling Goh CSWE I-II – Subha Sriram Noble Park Community Centre CSWE I-II – Katarzina Malinowski Pre CSWE – Christina Ewert Pre CSWE – Sue Marshall Dandenong Neighbourhood House Life Skills CIALN – Mystica Perera Learning Eng-Advanced ESL – Mystica Perera Literacy General Ed.- Mystica Perera Literacy Christina Ewert Beginners ESL-Sue Marshall Dandenong Library Volunteer Conversation class Beginners Conversation - Natalie Irvine Advanced Conversation - Enzy Imbrogno, Natalie Irvine Pre CSWE - Christina Ewert CSWE II -Sue Marshall Chandler Primary School CSWE I - Subha Sriram Coomoora Primary School ESL Levels 0-1 – Christina Ewert
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www.snh.org.au Springvale Library Introduction to Computers – Subha Sriram Advanced Computers – Subha Sriram Office Skills – Subha Sriram & Bach Nguyen Community Resources visited: Library, English Language and Literacy tours Shopping Centre visits Neighbourhood House Week- Dandenong Library Adult Learners Week Expo- Springvale Town Hall Diversity Day- Springvale Learning and Activities Centre Pancake Day- Springvale Neighbourhood House Excursions In December 2009 the students enjoyed an excursion to the Melbourne Aquarium. In 2010 students enjoyed excursions to the Zoo and the Yakult factory in Dandenong South. Class Activities Cooking lessons and sharing cultures have been a wonderful way of learning English. Felt bead workshops, Movie day. Visits to the markets and shopping trips to learn budgeting have also been popular. There have also been visits to the movies, restaurants and markets. We had a wonderful story telling day by Rita Romano who is on our Committee of management. Literacy Centre Program Relocation Literacy building update. Great, great news. The council has offered the Neighbourhood House a fantastic alternative venue on Lightwood Road to run the Literacy program (near Springvale Station) starting from January 2011 for 3 years. Thank you to Mark, Leanne and Kara for all their hard work. I visited the new space for the Literacy Centre on Lightwood Rd. Some rooms are bigger than our current set up, some are smaller but there is a lot of potential on site. Some refurbishing work has been planned for after June 2010. VRQA We did extremely well on an internal Victoria Registration and Quality Assurance audit, the VRQA organisation that provides our Certificate registration. ACFE - We have successfully maintained our ACFE provider registration and our business viability registration. - We participated in recent projects such as the CALD ACFE capacity project - We have a new contract with Skills Victoria who will be replacing ACFE in funding accredited programs in 2010. Skills Reforms We are preparing to adjust to the new skills reform policies. A feedback report has been produced for the Literacy Education in the Neighbourhood House sector by the City of Greater Dandenong. We are meeting with a project support worker (John Sheen) to assist us in working through the new Skills Reform changes. Student Placements We have had students doing the Diploma in Community Welfare conduct games in various ESL classes. Thank you to the students who participated over the year. Staff Professional Development
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www.snh.org.au Tutors and admin staff attend Cluster and ACFE organised PD, internal PD and conferences relevant to the teaching and learning process. This information is discussed in the tutor meetings. Tutor Volunteer Program Twenty new volunteers were matched up to students for one to one tutoring. This takes place in the Dandenong and Springvale Libraries. A thank you dinner for volunteers was held at the Pancake Parlour at the end of 2009. A huge thank you to Mystica who co-ordinates the Volunteer Program. Good news stories by volunteers and students were displayed at the ELLA Neighbourhood House Week event in the Dandenong Library. In May volunteers attended or contributed to the tutor‟s Show and Tell mini conference which was organised by ELLA. A special thank you to all volunteer tutors for their enthusiastic and extremely important contributions, Multicultural Sewing Group The multicultural sewing meets on Tuesday 10-2pm and Thursday 10-2pm. A few students from the Literacy Centre ESL classes have joined the sewing group and new members are welcome at any time during the year. Thank you to Ann, Shirley, Analeese, the volunteers who teach and support the group with pattern making, sewing and knitting. We are very sad to see Shirley leave to go to NSW to live with her daughter but we‟d like to welcome Grace St. John who joined the group. Emergency Evacuation Drill Earlier in 2009 the Literacy Centre conducted an emergency evacuation drill with Leanne Malcolm from the City of Greater Dandenong. This has been a helpful OHS procedure to know what to do if an emergency occurred.
Adult Learners Week The City of Greater Dandenong Cluster and the English Language and Literacy Access hosted an interactive display at the Springvale Town Hall. Community agencies displayed a variety of information and there were singing, laughter and dancing workshops. There were also craft and Men‟s Shed displays. Student support for this event was very enthusiastic. Feedback was very positive.
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Neighbourhood House Week All Literacy tutors, a number of volunteer tutors and many students attended the Neighbourhood House Week Expo at Dandenong Library. This was organised by ELLA. Many tutors conducted workshops in singing. (Thank you Mystica and Bee) and laughter (thanks Sue)
Conclusion Thank-you to all our funding partners especially Adult Community and Further Education and the City of Greater Dandenong for their continued support. Also thank you to everyone who assists in the continued smooth running and development of the programs, Ann, Philipa and Jan at English Language and Literacy Access (ELLA). Leah at Noble Park Community Centre, Amanda at Dandenong Neighbourhood House, Elena at Springvale Learning and Activities Centre Mystica, Subha, Bee, Christina, Kasia, Sue and Duc at the Literacy Centre, Samar, Rosemary, Sonia and Siham at the Springvale Neighbourhood House, the volunteer tutors and Springvale Neighbourhood House Committee of Management.
Rebekah O‟Loughlin Literacy Centre Co-ordinator
Tutor: Christina Ewert. Noble Park Community Centre PRE CSWE (Tuesday 9.30 am to 12.30 pm Tuesday 1.00 to 3.30 pm) This group has really striven to achieve success. They are a mixed group of women and one man who are Laotian, Sri Lankan, Sudanese, and Congolese. The child-minding services also contribute greatly to these classes. Tutor: Christina Ewert. Dandenong Neighbourhood House Improving Your Literacy (Wednesday 9.30 am to 11.30 am) Although this group has learning difficulties they are succeeding by their positive attitudes and determination. Tutor: Christina Ewert. Dandenong Library PRE-CSWE (Wednesday 12.30 pm to 2.30 pm) This class is making positive advancement as they commenced learning as beginners with no English and are now capable of writing complete sentences. Tutor: Christina Ewert. Coomoora Primary School ESL 0 to 1 Levels (Friday 9.00 am to 11.00 am) This year we have been located in the teachers staff room, where although this is not as good as having our own classroom, the students are enthusiastic and progressing.
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Tutor: Christina Ewert. Dandenong Library PRE-CSWE (Friday 12.30 pm to 2.30 pm) This is a large group of women from many different countries including; EL Salvador, Ethiopia, China, Greece, Cambodia, Vietnam and Russia. There are some learning difficulties within the group, but they are making steady progress.
Sue Marshall In every class the students read narrative text, dialogues and concentrate on pronunciation so they can be confident when they speak in the workplace, business or any social occasion. In the classes I teach, I tell the students that there is no right or wrong. We are here to help one another to learn and go upwards, „step by step‟.
Tutor: Sue Marshall. Neighbourhood Literacy Centre. Pre CSWE Noble Park Community Centre (Friday 9:30am. – 11:30am) The core of this class consists of four very hard working ladies. Their countries of birth are Afghanistan, Cambodia, Sudan and Viet Nam. We have been working with sound cards, pronunciation, reading and many conversations in the realms of everyday experiences such as shopping, transport, the weather, clothing, the body and health. These literacies have been combined with a little basic maths as this was requested by students. This class also contributed to the ELLA (English Language and Literacy Access) display in the Dandenong Library during Neighbourhood House Week. In May the Springvale Literacy Centre took students on an excursion to the Zoo. Students enjoyed the day and were able to increase their vocabulary and enjoy a discussion about the excursion when they returned to class. I thank these ladies for their happiness, enthusiasm and hard work.
Tutor: Sue Marshall. Neighbourhood Literacy Centre. Lifeskills Class (Cialn – Certificate 1 in Initial Adult Literacy and Numeracy Foundation) (Monay 9:30am. – 11:30am) Six lively students are very regular attendees. The class always begins with everyone talking about what they did during the week. Here, communication skills, manners, politeness and patience are emphasized. Students have learnt about communication skills, behaviour, health, travel, money and basic addition, personal information, travel, the weather, and many other topics. They readily give their opinions on politics, behaviour, health and current affairs. Oracy skills are used by those who can‟t read. Those who can read answer questions on paper and read aloud. Several students have had trips away from home, so this has generated enthusiastic discussion. All students enthusiastically contributed to the ELLA display in the Dandenong library during Neighbourhood House Week. For their contribution, I thank everyone.
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Tutor: Sue Marshall Dandenong Neighbourhood House ESL Level 1 (Monday 1.00pm. – 3.00pm) Comprising of eight to ten regular students from Afghanistan, Cambodia, China, Greece, India, Poland, Russia, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Viet Nam, this class has worked diligently on confidence in conversation. Working in pairs and groups and then presenting information to class has been a regular point of interest. All students have found this useful. For those in the workplace it translates into teamwork and leadership. Focus is also on communication skills in and out of the workplace. Reading and pronunciation have also been emphasized in this class. Some students also went on the Literacy Centre‟s excursion to the zoo. This generated discussion, an increase in vocabulary and also written work about places they had visited. The class also contributed to the ELLA (English Language and Literacy Access) display in the Dandenong Library during Neighbourhood House Week. For their regular attendance and hard work, I thank all the students.
Tutor: Sue Marshall Dandenong Neighbourhood House ESL Level 1(Monday 6.00pm. – 8.00pm) Afghanistan, Cambodia, China, India, Samoa, Sri Lanka and Viet Nam are the countries of origin for the eight to ten regular students. Most of these students work so they have concentrated on workplace ways as well as other aspects of Australian life. The Chinese welders have worked very hard because they don‟t finish work until late. Reading and pronunciation have been an important part of this class because most students work and some are currently seeking permanent residency. Work in pairs and groups is carried out enthusiastically by all students. This is important because it reflects workplace teamwork and leadership. Coming to class immediately after a long hard day at work needs focus and a great amount of extra energy and effort. For their attendance and effort, I thank all students.
Tutor: Sue Marshall. Dandenong Library. CSWE Level 1 (Wednesday 9.00am. – 12.00noon) Participants are from Russia, Cambodia, Croatia, Herzegovina, Poland, Serbia, Sudan, Russia and Viet Nam. For these ten to twelve regular students, lessons start with discussion on what they have experienced during the week and then they discuss any global issues. Working in pairs and in a group is important because some of the participants intend to enter the workforce. Being autonomous and being able to work in a team are important skills which transport to the workplace. The highlight for this class was the trip to the Melbourne Zoo. The day was very much appreciated by all. There was much discussion and writing about the zoo and other travels, so many valuable skills were learnt. All students contributed to the ELLA display in the Dandenong Library during Neighbourhood House Week. This class also took part in the activities during that week. Students are working steadily towards Level 1 in the CSWE (Certificate of Spoken and Written English). For their enthusiasm and effort, I thank all students.
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www.snh.org.au Tutor: Sue Marshall. Dandenong Library. CSWE Level 2 (Friday 12.30pm. – 3.00pm) Student‟s countries of origin are Afghanistan, China, Sri Lanka, India, Poland and Timor. All twelve students in this class are strong in character and work ethic. There is a great energy with fun, focus and hard work. I work hard and they match me. They work hard and I match them. Most intend to return to the workplace, or, for the first time, find work in Australia. Emphasis is placed on leadership, teamwork, communication and other aspects of the workplace. This year we have also focused on writing stories about places and events. The student‟s vocabulary and use of language has considerably increased. These skills can then be used in all genres of oracy and writing. The excursion to the Melbourne Zoo was a highlight. This very much complimented the extensive story writing focus of the class. All students contributed to the Neighbourhood House Week display in the Dandenong Library. They also attended the events during that week. Students are working well towards Level 2 in the CSWE (Certificate of Spoken and Written English). For their energy, fun, enthusiasm and hard work, I thank everyone in the class.
Tutor: Bee Ling Goh. Springvale Learning and Activity Centre (SLAC). Pre CSWE (Monday 10.00am. – 12.00pm) This group of students meet every Monday morning at SLAC from 10am -12 pm during the four school terms. They are mainly adult migrants from South East Asian countries where English is hardly or not used at all. Numbers tend to start low at the beginning of the year, then gradually increase. At the end of June 2010 there were 16 students. This year majority of my students are fresh new ones mainly referred by various work employment agencies or as part of their requirement by Centre Link to attend English classes. It is also quite a challenge for me this year having students from Burma and Sudan. Because these have no understanding of the English language, giving instructions in English is totally incomprehensible for them. On top of that having no or minimal formal education in their home country is an additional challenge. Forming letters and numbers alone is a huge struggle for them. Progress with their English for this particular group is extremely slow. In the past, the majority of students were either Vietnamese or Cambodian. There were some students who were able to translate my instructions or assist them with the class work. This made not only a huge improvement in their written work but also lessened the frustration of both the teacher and the students.
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Tutor: Bee Ling Goh. Springvale Neighbourhood Literacy Centre (SNLC). Pre CSWE (Monday 1.00pm - 3.00pm) Students from this group meet at SNLC every Monday afternoon from 1- 3 pm during the school term. They are mainly adult migrants from Vietnam and Cambodia. This year I have a Sudanese student and fortunately she is able to speak and understand English to a certain extend. Reading and writing are her main challenge which still need a lot of ground work. The number of students is about the same as in SLAC Half of these students also attend another English class on Wednesday morning or afternoon at SNLC with the intention of further improving their English especially their communication skills. Some of them do have secondary education in their home country and this particular group also likes to expand their vocabulary in order to read and write well. Tutor: Bee Ling Goh. Springvale Neighbourhood Literacy Centre (SNLC). Pre CSWE (Wednesday 9.30am - 12.00pm) This group of students meets every Wednesday morning from 9.30 am – 12 pm during the school term. This is another big class with 17 students and most of them attend class regularly. In this cold winter season, it‟s great to keep us all warm and cosy. This group will not miss their morning tea break. Everyone seems to be bringing something to share especially one particular Vietnamese student, Mai who works at a bakery in Frankston. She will bring a shopping trolley of pies, bread and cakes to share and give away. She is also a very enthusiastic and committed student travelling about two hours every Wednesday to study English. She is progressing very well from no English at all last year to speaking and also basic reading and writing. I can see the joy in her eyes at her achievement. Another hardworking student by the name of Phanny originally from Cambodia, speaks and understands English pretty well but can‟t read or write in English. She has been working since she came here about 25 years ago but recently the factory where she was working closed down. Her goal is to be able to read and write eventually. An excursion to the zoo on 19th of May was very exciting and interesting for my Wednesday group. Prior to the excursion we looked at various picture of animals and their names in English. Their task was to tick off the animals they saw at the zoo which were on their sheet. After the trip, we looked at the animals‟ features, body coverings, the classification of vertebrate and invertebrate during our English lessons. There was really good feedback from the students about the excursion. They have requested to go to the farm for the next excursion.
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Tutor: Bee Ling Goh. Springvale Neighbourhood Literacy Centre (SNLC). Pre CSWE (Wednesday 1.00pm - 3.00pm) My Wednesday afternoon students meet from 1-3 pm during the school term. I have only six students in this group but they are very motivated, dedicated and fast learners. These students have been selected because of their capabilities. With a smaller number of students, we were able to do more in our English lessons which is really good. A number of students here are pretty good with their work both written and spoken at this level because they do have some education in their home country. This has become an asset for them as we can learn more without many obstacles. This group also enjoyed the excursion to the zoo very much. They also had to complete the task of ticking off the animals they saw at the zoo on their sheet of paper. Besides that, I challenged them with writing out a guided composition entitled “Excursion to Melbourne Zoo”. They did pretty well and it was an unforgettable experience for many of them. Tutor: Bee Ling Goh. Dandenong Neighbourhood House (DNH). ESL Level 11 (Thursday 9.30am - 12.00pm) On the 22nd of October 2009 I was offered this class by Mystica, the former tutor of this group, because she had taken up a part time role as an assistant coordinator at SNLC. Therefore this is only a temporary role for me, I hope. This group of students meets for 2 ½ hours at DNH every Thursday from 9.30 am – 12 pm. There are four students who have been there for a while to my knowledge but the others come and go. The main reason is because their English is of a higher level, and it is much easier for them to find work or even continue with further studies of their interest at TAFE which is the main reason for them to study English. On a weekly basis, we mainly do comprehension, composition, sentence construction and a section of grammar. This group of students is very keen to learn and is always asking questions to clarify things. It is very enjoyable teaching them because there is not much communication break down here. Many of them do have a profession back in their home country. Since migrating to Australia, the English language, which is a second language or may not even be used by them, has become a major hurdle in their daily lives in the community and to find a job where English is a requirement. Most of them also went to Melbourne Zoo and found this excursion very profitable, exciting and interesting. After the trip we were able to discuss and write more about the trip. Overall, it was a very pleasant and enjoyable experience for everyone.
Mystica Perera The “Life Skills” Group There has been a change of venue for the class that was usually held on a Monday, which is now held at the Springvale Literacy Centre with Tutor Sue. This has given an opportunity for new students from Springvale to join this class. The class conducted on Fridays continues to be held at the Dandenong Neighbourhood House for two hours. Yuol – a Sudanese student on placement from a high school nearby attended the sessions regularly while contributing interesting experiences from her culture to stimulate class room discussions. She also assisted the slower students to complete their tasks.
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These students who have varied learning disabilities are regular in their attendance and their greatest need is to maintain the numeracy and literacy skills they possess, through constant repetition and practise. Learning is facilitated through integrated activities that are conducted at a very slow pace to meet the needs of each individual as their learning styles are varied and require one to one attention. During the course of the year we attempt to cover the literacy and numeracy modules through a variety of topics related to their lifestyles .The topics include time management, personal care, health and diet, recognition of money and estimating costs and balances. Coins and notes are used to practise counting in number sequences. All birthdays are celebrated with the students creating their own greeting cards for each other. We enjoy some food together, take photographs and sing our favourite songs while Scott sometimes entertains us with an Elvis or MJ act and Priscilla dresses up in her dance skirt and performs the Mauritian „Segar‟. We have used some photos to create „Photo-Talk‟ for written displays at the Dandenong Library activities day. Tutor: Mystica Perera „The General Education‟ Group Dandenong Neighbourhood House (DNH) The beginning of this year heralded in some changes to the group dynamics of this class as Anthony who had been a regular member decided to go onto concentrating on helping other students at the library as a volunteer tutor. He underwent training at the Literacy Centre and has been consistently assisting others to develop their communication skills in English. Anthony is currently assisting his classmate from Sri Lanka to develop the skills he requires to sit for the IELTS which is essential for international students who complete their studies here to obtain P.R. John, who is also an Australian, has replaced Anthony who served as the Native Speaking role model for the rest of the students who are migrants. This group, made up of Australian students together with E.S.L. students who have high oracy skills, is definitely both challenging and stimulating to teach. This year we included a new theme: „Book Reviews‟ which involved the reading of a variety of reviews after which the students were assigned to write a review about a story of their choice. We are now building up our writing skills to develop the art of letter writing; both formal and informal. A majority of the Literacy students attend school to form new friendships, create a bond with class mates and also to develop their self-confidence and self-esteem. It is also a path way to further study, volunteering as tutors in the community and for gaining confidence to re-enter the workforce. Tutor: Mystica Perera Learning English-(Advanced ESL.) Dandenong Neighbourhood House (DNH) There are students from Argentina, China, Sudan and Afghanistan who attend this class on a Wednesday afternoon from 12 noon - 2.30pm. They have a high level of oracy but wish to develop their Reading and Writing skills in order to obtain employment, pursue further study or to be part of the group for personal development. Learner centred activities based on the development of vocabulary and spelling skills are important to this group in order to achieve their goals in writing letters, reports, descriptions, and narratives. In the last semester we read a variety of news reports from the internet and local newspapers. All students presented their writing for display at the Adult Learners‟ Day last September and the Activities Day held
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www.snh.org.au at the Dandenong Library this year. Eleven students who participated in the excursions to the Yakult factory, the Caribbean market and the city zoo used these events to write recounts or to record special memories they would carry with them. Tutor: Mystica Perera CSWE II Neighbourhood Literacy Centre Neighbourhood Literacy Centre Tuesday and Friday. This group meets twice a week on Tuesday and Friday afternoons mainly to develop their conversation skills while improving their reading and writing. The majority of the students are Asian. We also have students from Sudan, Afghanistan and Hungary. This class being based at the Literacy Centre, the students are fortunate to participate in activities organised on Tuesdays -together with the Multi-Cultural sewing group such as the Felt Bead work shop. Some students arrive earlier on a Tuesday to develop their conversation skills while learning new skills in sewing, knitting or by engaging in other craft. Learning activities are integrated so that students develop Listening and Speaking skills as well. A refreshing change to their class room routine was provided by a story- telling session conducted by committee member/former Volunteer-Tutor Rita who also demonstrated and introduced some delicious Italian cooking to the students. All students contributed written recounts for display at the City of Greater Dandenong Library and participated in the activities. One student Kim has moved on as she has been successful in obtaining employment at the Community Day Care Centre in Springvale. Class room activity -Rita showing students the location of Tasmania and Denmark: Tutor: Kasia Malinowski Noble Park Community Centre. CSWE 1 Certificate in Spoken and Written English (Monday and Wednesday) There are 12 students in this course. They come from Afghanistan, Cambodia, Chile, China, Ethiopia, Greece, Sudan and Vietnam. The group meets twice a week for a 2.5 hour session. In the course the students develop their English language skills while covering a whole range of topics and themes. The classes also provide an excellent opportunity for social interaction and developing personal networks. The sessions which the students found especially interesting, enjoyable or useful in the past year included: The excursion to the Yakult factory in Dandenong followed by a session on a healthy life style; The Excursion to the Melbourne Zoo preceded by a session in which the students used the Internet to prepare for the trip; Sessions which allowed the students to get to know one another through sharing their personal stories and their cultural diversity. In the coming months we are planning to cover some of the so called Australian studies topics, namely Australia`s states, territories and capital cities as well as different levels of government in Australia.
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Tutor: Kasia Malinowski Noble Park Community Centre. CSWE 2 Certificate in Spoken and Written English (Monday and Wednesday) The 16 students in this course come from Afghanistan, Cambodia, China, Iran, Poland, Russia, Sudan, Turkey and Vietnam. The group meets twice a week for a 2.5 hour session. The language skills that the students develop in this course and the knowledge they gain aim to increase their life opportunities and help them connect to the broader community. In the last year we covered a whole range of topics. The sessions that received a very positive feedback from the students included: The classes in which the students could access information from the Internet, eg 1. Famous people 2. Symbols of Australia and students` countries 3. Melbourne 4. Places of interest in students` countries Cooking sessions in which individual students demonstrated their favourite recipes, namely 1. Lahmacun ( Turkish Pizza ) 2. Cambodian Chicken Curry 3. Afghan Shamie Kebab The sessions which allowed the students to get to know one another while practising their speaking skills: 1. Culture shock in Australia 2. Stories of students‟ names 3. Childhood happy memories
Some of the things we are planning to do in the coming months include job searching skills and learning Australian songs in our Australian studies sessions. It has been a great pleasure and privilege to teach both of these groups. Kasia Malinowski ESL Tutor
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Bach Nguyen Springvale Learning and Activity Centre (SLAC) CSWE: Beginners and Advanced: Mixed level (Friday 1:00pm to 3.00pm) There are eight students in this class. The main activities during the year have included using Excel to do the calculations, design worksheets and organize documents. The class has gained confidence in using four basic operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division to write formulas and calculate salaries. They are able to copy formulas and put a name list in alphabet order, using worksheets to manage their expenditure.
SUBHA‟S ANNUAL REPORT 2010 It is a great pleasure to be presenting my 10th Annual report for Springvale Neighbourhood Literacy Centre. I have enjoyed my ten years serving the community and hope I continue to do so for many more years to come. This year would be our last report from Springvale Neighbourhood Literacy Centre. The following classes have been running very well at the Springvale Neighbourhood Literacy Centre
Tutor: Subha Sriram. Neighbourhood Literacy Centre CSWE 1 (Monday 9.30 am - 11.30 am) The students in this class learn English for many reasons. It has been an amazing experience teaching the students from such diverse cultural backgrounds. The students always look forward to excursions organised by the centre and this year the excursion to the Melbourne zoo was indeed a very worthwhile experience.
Tutor: Subha Sriram. Neighbourhood Literacy Centre CSWE 2/3 (Monday 12.00 pm - 3.00 pm)
This class is very interactive and all the students are keen and enthusiastic to learn English. Lots of practical activities are included in the class which encourage the students towards active participation. Therefore the conversational skills have improved immensely. In term two the students studied about different natural disasters occurring in different parts of the world and the impact they had on the people and their lifestyles. Earthquakes were the focus and on completion of the topic we organised a movie day where the students watched the movie “2012” A cinema experience was created for the class as most of these students have never been to a cinema. In term 3 the theme is Elections and we do have mock elections and this would be another major learning experience for the students because they will be able to practice using how to vote cards and get them ready for the final election day.
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Tutor: Subha Sriram. Neighbourhood Literacy Centre ESL (Monday 6.00 pm - 8.00 pm) Most of the students in this class are casual workers or new migrants. Since this is a mixed level class the focus is on reading and writing skills, some oral communications and pronunciation. Most of the clients in this class are keen to learn to read and write and learn some grammar.
Tutor: Subha Sriram. Chandler Primary School CSWE I (Tuesday 9.30 - 12.30 pm) Most of the students in this class are from Vietnam and some have children and grandchildren at the school. The clients are keen to learn grammar and some conversational skills, which would help them in their daily lives. The clients are very regular in attendance and have shown a lot of enthusiasm on special days and excursions. These clients have improved their speaking and reading skills.
Tutor: Subha Sriram. Springvale Library Introduction to Computer Class (Tues 1 - 3pm) The clients are enrolled in this class for one term that is 10 weeks. The clients have little or no knowledge about computer use. The clients learn basic computer skills and Microsoft Word programme. Before the end of the term they have a couple of sessions of basic Internet skills. The computer skills help the clients to create simple documents in Microsoft Word. Tutor: Subha Sriram. Springvale Library Advanced Computers (Wednesday 12 – 3pm) The clients in this course have completed the Introduction to Computers Course. The clients have learnt most of the Microsoft Word, word processing skills and some Internet skills. In this course the clients create documents using the skills learnt and then send attachments to their teacher. They also learn how to create newsletters, brochures, flyers, etc. using Word. Most of the clients in this class are very keen to get jobs. Some of them are using the computer skills to send their resumes online and are able to communicate with prospective employers online. At the end of this course the clients are ready to take up the Office Skills course.
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Tutor: Subha Sriram. Springvale Library Office Skills (Thurs/Friday 1 - 3pm) The clients in this class have learnt advanced word processing skills and have a good knowledge of the Internet. This course is for 10 weeks each term and the clients learn Microsoft word, surf the net, Microsoft PowerPoint and Microsoft Excel. The clients create documents using the word processing skills and Internet skills and also learn basic Excel over two days Thursday and Friday. At the end of the course some of the clients take up various computer courses like MYOB, Certificate 11 in Business, at other venues. Some of the clients have started working.
Tutor: Subha Sriram. Springvale Learning and Activities Centre CSWE 1 Wednesday 9:00 am - 12:00 pm The students in this class do a course in Certificate for Spoken and Written English Level 1. Each session allows the students to practise speaking, reading, writing and listening skills. This year the students did a lot of pronunciation and grammar activities. The students enjoyed excursions to Melbourne Aquarium and Melbourne Zoo. Practical activities like mock elections and how to use vote cards have enabled the students to practise their voting skills
Tutor: Subha Sriram. Springvale Learning and Activities Centre CSWE 2 - Friday 9:00 am - 12:00 pm In this class the students do Certificate for Spoken and Written English level 2. The students in this class do a lot of speaking and reading skills, as most of them have some writing skills. The students are mostly involved in class discussion and pair work where each student interviews his or her partner and a lot of focus is on student oral presentations. These strategies help to achieve the modules on speaking and listening and reading and writing. Tutor: Subha Sriram. Springvale Learning and Activities Centre CSWE 1 - Friday 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm On Friday afternoon the students do Certificate in Spoken and Written English level 1 in a 2 hour session. The students learn grammar and some conversational skills. The students practise speaking and they frequently do oral presentations in the class. This is a very interactive session and students do a lot of reading, writing, speaking and listening skills.
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Tutor: Subha Sriram. Springvale Learning and Activities Centre Beginners ESL - Thursday 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm The students in this class have some difficulties in reading, writing and speaking. Some of the students have learnt English in their native countries while some have not been to any formal school. The English session begins with simple words spelling and pronunciation of these words. A lot of visual teaching aids are used so that the students have visual exposure encouraging more interaction.
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Springvale Neighbourhood House and the Neighbourhood Literacy Centre 2009 – 2010 Member Groups
AA Resurreccion Hararian Organisation in Vic Somaliland Women’s and Youth Support Group. Support Group for Hararian Group Community, youth and women Social and Support Group ADEC Arabic Carers‟ Support Group La Voz Femenina South Sudan Equatorial Women's Turkish Carers‟ Support Group Support and Social Group for Latin Sewing Group Vietnamese Carers‟ Support Group American Women Support and Social Group
Aitutaki Lakhanda Media Centre Southern-Eastern Region South Pacific Music Support and Social Group for Sri Melbourne Oromo Community Lankan Elderly Association In Victoria-Australian. Al-Ehssan Support Group Social and Support Group Support and Social Group for Muslim Maya Dance Group. Women Cultural Dance Group from El Springvale Mandarin Network Salvador Mutual Support and Self Help Group Al-Emaan Support Group Support and Social Group for Muslim McGuire Group United Filipino Elderly Group Inc Women Support Group for people who stutter Support and Social Group
Amigas Unidas Multicultural Women’s Sewing Ventana Hispana (Spanish Support and Social Group Group Window) Support and Sewing Group Support and Social Group. Arabic Women's Group Support and Social Group Multicultural Women's Group Victorian Avicultural Council Inc. Support and Social Group for Italian Bird Enthusiasts Organization Australia Burma Society Women Support Group Victorian Eritrean Community New Life Assembly of God Youth Association Australian Oromo Community (Cook Islands) Support and Social Group Association In Victoria Support and Social Group Support and Social Group New Life Ministry Centre Inc. Blue Lagoon Support for Cambodian Adults and Non Community Groups Young People from South-East Dance Group Asian Backgrounds. Kumon
Borio Anatolie Maths classes for Children Oromo Children Drama Group Social and Support Group Textile Clothing and Footwear
Chinese Musical Band Union Oromo Women’s Association In Chinese Musical Group English classes for workers in the Australia South Pacific Region textile industry Cultural, Social and Support Group Cook Island Women’s Association
Support and Social Group Rhythms Of The Pacific
South Pacific Music Cook Islander’s Senior Citizen’s
Association Salvadorian Australian Support and Social Group Association Inc.
Salvadorian social group Cook Islands Royal Polynesian
Dance Team Samoan Assembly of God Dance Group Church group Enterprise Migrant Hostel Community Project Group SEAAC Support and Social Group Eritrean South Eastern Group Support and Social Group Seven Valley Ensemble Persian Classical Music Group Friends Support and Social Group for Slavic Senior Citizens Club Families from Slavic background Social and Support Group
Gaddisa Oromo Community Slavic Women’s Group “Relaxum” Cultural, Social and Support Group Springvale Support and Social Group for women Hararian Association from Slavic background Social and Support Group
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