Executive Officer’s Report
When looking at a year broken down into weeks it
doesn’t seem as if you are achieving much. However,
when looking back across a whole year I can see how
much FLN has grown and strengthened. It is hard to
believe that we have the capacity to grow, given our
limited financial and physical resources, but grow
we do. We undertake new community development
projects, add new ESL classes, add new clients to all
our Refugee Support and other programs and recruit
more volunteers.
We currently have nearly 250 active volunteers at
FLN. The volunteers contribute in excess of 20,000
hours every year. This is an amazing contribution to a
small organisation such as FLN. The staff are grateful
for the assistance they provide in all aspects of the
organisation. Without the support of volunteers FLN
could not function at the high capacity which we do.
The Refugee Support Program is a unique service
we provide to our clients. The fact that they feel
comfortable in visiting and returning to visit us many
years after our first contact, even with staff changes, is
a testament to the support which we provide. Whilst
we do not duplicate the services provided by the other
organisations who are professionals in their field, and
to which we refer clients, there is a need for the link
which we provide. We recently were able to assist a
non-English speaking young lady who without the
assistance of our Refugee Support Worker could not
have worked through the complicated systems of
banking, Centrelink, housing and material aid. She
could have not even been able to navigate around the
suburbs to access these other services.
The Refugee Support Program continues to assist those
clients who came to us ten years ago as asylum seekers
and are now bringing their families to join our various
education and support programs.
I was proud and pleased to recently see a mother
and father enjoying watching their three children do
a presentation at a Computer Clubhouse event. The
mother and those children had only been in Australia
for eight months. With the assistance of our ESL
program and the Clubhouse the mother and children’s
English skills were improving quickly.
Fitzroy Learning Network Annual Report 2011/12
Our Computer Clubhouse members nearly always
stay with us for the entire length of their membership
from the ages of 10 years to 18. We also have past
members volunteering as mentors. The Clubhouse has
been operating for 11 years now and we have seen our
members move from primary school to tertiary study.
We have a number of asylum seekers who have recently
been placed in community detention that have been
accessing our services. With the changes to government
policy the requests for assistance will escalate.
The support that FLN can give to these asylum seekers
can be shown by a charming gentleman who is in one
of our ESL classes. He has travelled from Afghanistan,
to Pakistan and to Indonesia. He arrived on Christmas
Island in 2007. After this he was moved around
detention centres in Australia. He came to us on a
temporary visa and has just recently gained permanent
residency. He has no family here in Australia, they are
all back in Afghanistan. He told one of our dedicated
ESL teachers that he knew that his teachers, the
volunteers and staff worked really hard and were doing
their best to help him. He said that FLN were so kind
and like family to him. Our staff member acknowledge
how difficult his extended journey had been and he
gently stated, “I’m not a tree to be shaken by any
wind.” This gentleman has shown great courage in
coming to Australia and trusting us. He is dedicated
and has shown remarkable progress in his English
language studies in a very short time. FLN are fortunate
to be part of the end of his journey and have his trust
and friendship.
I would like to thank our volunteers, staff, Board and
clients for another wonderful year. I think to myself
almost daily how fortunate I am to work with you all.
Colleen Duggan
Executive Officer
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