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St Paul's
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Our parish is a community that seeks God and the fullness of creation by finding ourselves in relation to others. Our giving to the common, to the other, our sharing of ourselves is our commitment to this endeavour. |
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One of the most exciting early projects in this program was the 2004 Noah's' s Ark Parade. This project was funded by an Arts WA grant which enabled the construction of a wooden Noah's Ark and of full size animal puppet heads. There were six workshops, directed by Anne Fitzpatrick, and refugee children were driven by volunteers to take part in these workshops. On the day of the street parade in the Festival of Fremantle the Ark, together with its cargo of animals, was paraded through the main streets of Fremantle. At various stages during the procession a policeman would appear and usher out from the interior of the Ark a band of 'refugees' carrying their possessions and suitcases. Many of the refugee children took part in this parade and one young boy said the best thing about it was walking down the street with the Ark and having all the bystanders waving and cheering. A very rewarding activity was the Soccer program initiated by Marie Thomson. Many of the boys and young men are very keen and skilled soccer players and a bus, paid by for St Paul's, went round to pick up the different players to enjoy the Saturday afternoon game. The young girls had their own soccer and ball games. The outing provided a very good way for refugee families to get to know their Australian neighbours. One large Congolese family was particularly involved in these soccer games and of them one Australian man who lived next door to them said, “They are the best neighbours I have ever had”. Another very rewarding experience was enjoyed by John Hedges and his family. One refugee family had never, before arriving in Australia, seen the ocean. When they first arrived in Perth they had glimpses occasionally from a bus or car but their joy was unbounded when the Hedges took the family down to actually experience the ocean and the sand. John said: 'You think you are helping them but your are actually receiving a gift from them in their joy and excitement.' Angela Wilson had a similar experience with some Sudanese refugees. A man and his nephew, who were both academics, had never seen the sea before and they experienced the same delight when Angela took them on an excursion to South Beach. There have been very few recent refugee arrivals in Fremantle and its environs, as many newcomers have elected for the northern suburbs where they have more contacts with their own nationality. St Paul's, however, still keeps in touch with the earlier arrivals, many of whom have become friends. Unlike an official program, the families are not dropped after six months. Some of the refugee families who arrived two or more years ago have very happy stories of their new life. One Congolese family have added a new baby daughter to their family and the father has almost completed a formal diploma in social work and will soon be working full time helping other new families to adjust to their life in Perth. Another Sudanese family also added a new daughter to their family and the father (who is an agricultural scientist with many degrees in his native land) was able to enrol in a PH D program at Murdoch University, through the encouragement of Ken Kelso and Peter Newman. Both Ken's and Peter's families have been involved in getting to know and in helping the new arrivals. Although the flood of arrivals in 2004 and 2005 has slowed down, St Paul's is continuing to find ways to help new arrivals. For instance, Jenny and Bill Grace and Searka, who is a school adviser from Kenya, organised a sausage sizzle in St. Paul's Hall on September 30th from 5pm to 8 pm, with a soccer game and a disco. Simon's family live as refugees in Kampala, Uganda. St. Paul's is in the process of making contact with them, via church and medical services, in order to process their application. Given the difficulties of communications, it will take some time to complete the formalities. In the meantime, a non-profit association is being established in order to enable donations to this important cause to be tax deductible. A recent update from Chris Williams, who is helping co-ordinate the St. Paul's refugee support group 'Just Manna' says that the family consists of a forty one year old widowed mother, whose husband was killed by militia in 2004, her daughter, Adhieu, son and nephew. An application form has been completed and sent for signature to the family in Kampala, Uganda. We have been in communication with Dr. Richard Stockley in Kampala and sent Church funds for the treatment of Adhieu, who was expected to recover from liver failure arising from hepatitis B. Sadly, we have had a further report to tell us that 15 year old Adhieu has died. A tree will be planted in her memory. Some Sudanese families have become regular parishioners at St Paul's and other refugee families have joined us through these connections so the circles of friendship and fellowship continue to grow. It is a privilege to have them in our community and as Angela Wilson says, they have a lot to teach us. They have gifts of joy, warmth and friendliness. They have the gift of hospitality, greeting their visitors with blessing and give us a gift in sharing their joy in living. New Initiative Just Manna
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