Befriend a Child in Detention is a community project committed to seeing an end to the detention of child asylum seekers. We aim to inspire and support compassionate Australians to make a positive connection with the children and families living in detention: to ameliorate their experience, to raise awareness of their circumstances, and to advocate for positive change.
CALL FOR DONATIONS – CHRISTMAS DONATIONS
We have decided to delay our shipment that was planned for October until late November. This reason for this is to give the children on Nauru gifts for Christmas and end of year celebrations.
Right now, there are 227 child asylum seekers and refugees stranded on Nauru, with no security and an uncertain future.
With great uncertainty surrounding the USA deal, it is likely that these children will spend another Christmas living in detention-like conditions.
We hope that Christmas gifts will provide a small ray of happiness for these children.
We are asking for the following items – in NEW condition only:
– Educational resources: games, books, puzzles.
– Board games and card games: such as decks of cards, UNO, draughts, chess, snakes and ladders etc.
– Sporting equipment: bouncy balls, table tennis balls/bats, frisbees, deflated soccer balls with pumps (Unfortunately we are not able to send large/heavy items such as cricket bats or tennis rackets).
– We also welcome financial donations to cover the significant postage costs to Nauru. In our last shipment we sent 24 boxes of books, letters and resources for a total cost of $2300.98.
Please email project@befriendachild.com and we will send you a tax deductible receipt for any financial donations.
Please send NEW donated goods or cheques to:
Befriend a Child in Detention. P.O. Box 1282, Carlton, VIC 3053.
Or donate by electronic transfer to:
BEFRIEND A CHILD IN DETENTION
CHURCH OF ALL NATIONS COMMUNITY SERVICE
BSB: 083170
ACCOUNT NUMBER: 201272889
You can also drop books and resources to our office:
The Church of All Nations, 180 Palmerston St, Carlton, 3053
Please call the church before you go to drop off donations as staff hours are changing. Their contact number is 9347 7077.
Please contact project@befriendachild.com for more information.
LATEST NEWS
Melbourne Befrienders, you might be interested in an upcoming seminar run by the Melbourne Grandmothers Against the Detention of Refugees. Speakers include Professor Gillian Triggs, David Manne, Michael Gordon and Natasha Blucher. There’ll be time for them each to respond to your questions, and then there will be a moderated Q&A panel to find ways to take us forward with hope.
Sunday 12 November 2017 at 9:15am
At ANMF Building: 535 Elizabeth Street Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic 3000
Book tickets here.
“At a global level, the Turnbull government’s “single-minded focus on deterrence” fundamentally misses the point. People fleeing danger deserve safety. To get it they must go somewhere. The focus needs to be on making sure they get there in a safe and orderly way. After all, if every country in the world had a “single-minded focus on deterrence” then persecuted people would be left with nowhere to flee.”
2,011 people remain on Manus & Nauru after 52 left for the US. These people live in complete uncertainty, with no idea if or when they will be free.
Thank you for all you are doing! Sometimes it seems such a long, hard battle to get these children out of detention. One day we will succeed, but in the meantime, projects such as this at least bring a little pleasure and hope into their lives.
LikeLike
I like the helpful info you provide to your articles.
I’ll bookmark your blog and check again right here frequently.
I am fairly sure I’ll learn a lot of new stuff right right
here! Good luck for the next!
LikeLike
Thank you for sending all these books and letters for, all the other kids who need a better life!
LikeLike