Befriend a Child in Detention

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.

If you share our concerns about the detention of child asylum seekers, we invite you to find out more about the issue, and our project, and to become involved.

Please support the Befriend a Child in Detention Project

In these trying times it is more important than ever to support children seeking asylum. The Befriend a Child in Detention project is doing this by sending parcels to children and by running advocacy programs. 

We aim:

• To foster positive connections between Australians and asylum seeker children living in detention;
• To alleviate some of the experience of detention through friendship;
• To motivate Australians to advocate for an end to the detention of children;
• To provide a platform through which the community can take positive action.

To join us in fulfilling these aims please make a tax deductible donation to the Befriend a Child in Detention project. We appreciate all donations large and small.

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Latest news

Action: #EvacuateNow Four Years Too Many, Vigil 19 July

06.2017

For the past four years successive Australian governments have chosen to make people seeking safety suffer in offshore detention.
 The US deal won’t provide safety for everyone. The men, women and children abandoned in offshore detention are in immediate danger with nowhere safe to go.

This is an urgent SOS. The camps must be evacuated immediately.

#EvacuateNow 
Four years too many

Vigils are happening all across Australia, follow this link for details of a vigil happening in your capital city. 

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News: UN official says Australia responsible for ‘inhuman’ treatment of asylum seekers

06.2017

Criticism from the United Nations continues. “The UN’s special rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, François Crépeau, has reported on his visit to Australia last November, saying Australia’s strong human rights record was tarnished by an abusive offshore detention system that “cannot be salvaged”.”

#BringThemHere

Read the full article here.

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Events: Refugee Week 18 June – 24 June

Refugee Week is coming up in June. This is the perfect time to raise awareness and support refugees and asylum seekers. Have a look at our Refugee Week Activities for ideas to raise awareness in your school and community, and to support refugee and asylum seeker children on Nauru. 

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BCD: Books, resources and dolls sent to children on Nauru

05.2017 

Books, resources and dolls sent to children on Nauru (May 2017)

A message from the Convenor of the Befriend a Child in Detention Project, Dr June Factor

Since 2014, we have been befriending our refugee and asylum seeker children, especially those held on Nauru. At the beginning of May, 24 boxes filled with beautiful gifts sent by our ever-growing number of supporters will be on their way to Nauru: new books for the littlies, the tweens and the teenagers, each with letters of greeting from children and adults here; books to write in; sketch pads and coloured pens and pencils; comforting small hand-made dolls with material to make their own…  All this possible because of the kind hearts and generosity of so many Australians.

These children should not be detained on a rocky, poverty-stricken Pacific island. They should be living and flourishing in Australia, part of our community. Until they are freed, the Befriend a Child in Detention Project will continue to encourage and support them. Our small Leadership Group sends its grateful thanks to all – children and adults – who contribute with gifts, donations, and by spreading the word.

What else can you do? We recommend that you ask your local Member of Parliament to act on your behalf to free the children. It’s asking for nothing but decent humanity.