The Refugee athletes strode into global spotlight as Tokyo Games begin. The Opening ceremony featured the refugee athletes – in second place – marching out under the Olympic flag, showcasing the power of sport and sending a message of hope to 82 million displaced people worldwide.
The Mental Health Community Support Service offers a Youth Outreach Recovery Support program across five regional local government areas: Shire of Moira, City of Greater Shepparton, Shire of Strathbogie, Shire of Mitchell and Shire of Murrindindi. This service is available for youth aged 16-25 years of age and is a free service.
Despite COVID-19 lockdown restrictions and other constraints, the GV Health vaccination program continues to steadily progress. Almost 40,000 vaccinations have been administered since March 10 across the local public health unit catchment area which includes five vaccination sites, a mobile outreach service and pop-up clinics.
Cabrini Outreach in collaboration with Primary Care Connect conduct a free medical clinic for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Shepparton. Medicare card is not needed. All services are of no cost, and this service is provided two days a week in Shepparton, every Tuesday and Wednesday. Information is available in Arabic, English, Farsi, Hazaragi, Malay and Tamil languages.
For many refugees, their passion for sport is what keeps them going in the face of obstacles as they start a new life, in new communities. It helps them to make friends and rebuild their lives. We want to ensure every refugee is able to access sports. To harness their passion to be able to rebuild their life and fulfil their potential. More opportunities, bigger platforms. #cheerforrefugees
It was great to see IOC President Thomas Bach visit our team, showing his support for all of the work we are doing. Here we look at the preparation by Iranian refugee karateka competitor, Hamoon Derafshipour.
When Aker Al Obaidi first started wrestling aged 6, he had no idea that one day the sport would be his ticket to a new life. The young Iraqi competed for fun, and he showed enormous potential. Obaidi started winning junior tournaments, and was attracting the attention of other nations that wanted to recruit him. But when he turned 14, the fun abruptly stopped.
A group calling itself Islamic State took over his home city of Mosul, Iraq, and started recruiting boys around his age. He fled the country. “I didn’t want to leave, but I had to.” said Obaidi, now 21. “It was a very scary experience. I didn’t know where I was going or where I would end up.
I was separated from my family and following a group of others. I was scared whether my family would survive the war. I had to look after myself. “The whole situation was very tough, psychologically, and I’ve had to see doctors about what happened to me.” Aker is now a member of the Refugee Olympic Team
There is a promotional opportunity for a number of youth who are prepared to be Future Healthy Champions and promote a healthy lifestyle. There is remuneration, there are videos and media opportunities. This a a great boon and a great step forward in life for any CALD youth interesting in putting themselves forward in a healthy manner and fashion. DO read on!
The Victorian Government refugee and asylum seeker internship program provides university students who are refugees or asylum seekers with work experience and the opportunity to build their network.
