Chairperson’s Report
The Fitzroy Learning Network’s wonderful staff
and volunteers have provided another great year
of hard work and dedication, strengthening the
organisation’s ability to provide much needed
support for refugees, asylum seekers and other new
and recent arrivals to our community.
Members of Fitzroy Learning Network community
come from many places including Afghanistan,
China, East Timor, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iran, Somalia,
Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania, Turkey, and Vietnam.
They are assisted with learning English, settlement
issues such as banking, dealing with Centrelink
and other government bureaucracies, with doctors,
dentists and much more.
Part of the charter of the Fitzroy Learning Network
is to respond to the needs of these people as
they arise. This has led us to develop a variety of
programs, including computer classes, job club,
study support and wellness classes.
This year we have seen an increase in the number
of asylum seekers looking for support. These recent
arrivals are on bridging visas that do not allow them
access to classes or work, or they are in community
detention. In response, the FLN has developed a
pilot program to assist these people with English
classes and access to all of FLN’s other services. Our
wonderful volunteers have been assisting us with
this program, but we are also seeking funding from
many sources to help us to keep providing this vital
support.
Major changes have also occurred at staff level. Our
Manager, Colleen Duggan, resigned during the year
and we have had changes in the management of the
Computer Club House. We thank those staff we
Fitzroy Learning Network Annual Report 2012/13
have lost for their contributions to the development
of the Network and we welcome newcomers to
our large extended FLN family. Special thanks are
due to Robin Kenrick, who has been managing the
Network in the interim while we are in the process
of employing a new permanent manager. Robin’s
dynamism and energy has swept through the
organisation, giving it a spring clean and setting it up
to grow and thrive under its new management in the
new year.
The year has also been a difficult one politically
as we have been struggling to be heard above the
cacophony of misinformation about the arrival of
refugees and asylum seekers prevailing throughout
the media. Once again, during this coming year
we will need to make our voices heard, to reassure
the community at large that we Australians can
and do assist refugees to settle successfully into our
communities, as we have done for generations.
Over the next year we at Fitzroy Learning Network
will build on our successes and continue to work
with other like-minded organisations in advocating
for the development of an effective and sustainable
regional protection framework for asylum seekers
and refugees. Together we need to ensure that we
progress positively towards a workable, humane
policy.
Many thanks to the Board, staff, volunteers and all
individuals and organisations who have supported
the Fitzroy Learning Network during the past year.
We look forward to working with you in the coming
years.
Claire Woods
Chairperson
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