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Providing refugee children and their families with community support through schools.
The pilot program will be implemented in three primary schools in the Parramatta area. This program seeks to provide curriculum, social and cultural support to newly arrived refugee children and their families with the intended outcomes being: aiding refugee settlement, raising mainstream community awareness about refugees, and facilitating chances for social contact and mutual appreciation between refugee and mainstream communities.
This is a homework club that is to be run for 1 to 1.5 hours after school once a week. At each school this will be supervised by a school staff member and supported by volunteers supplied and trained by SVDP and the schools.
This program would be run for infant school age and younger children so they can play in a school environment. This would be run concurrently with the classes for parents and the homework club. Child care would be provided for the younger children at each of the schools to enable parents to attend the parent group.
The Parents Group will meet each week to support the refugee parents. General English and practical lessons would be provided by volunteers from the local community. Formal information sessions will be held twice a term for refugee parents on topics such as budgeting, parenting, health and nutrition.
Sport Support will involve swimming lessons and providing opportunities for refugee children to participate in local sports groups.
The social events, such as BBQs, will act as regular opportunities for school staff, parents, children and the local community to interact socially.
An important element of this program is raising mainstream community awareness about refugees and especially the new Sudanese members of the school community. This will increase knowledge, understanding, promote acceptance and stimulate more interaction and mutual appreciation.
Vinnies is currently recruiting and training volunteers from high schools, universities and the local community to assist with three SPARK programs that will run concurrently, once a week at each school
For more information contact Clare Thompson
Tel: 9568 0280 (W - F) Email Clare HERE
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