Welcome, Asma!
MWASA Team Takes Out The Trash!
The Muslim Women’s Association of SA (MWASA) put together a team and participated in Clean Up Australia Day last Sunday, 3rd of March.
Clean Up Australia Day is Australia’s largest community-based environmental day. It was started in 1989 by ‘average Aussie bloke’, builder and solo yachtsman, Ian Kiernan. His dream of sailing around the world came true in 1987, however his excitement and anticipation turned to anger and disappointment to find the oceans polluted and choked with rubbish. Upon returning home he put together a committee of friends and organised a clean up of his own backyard – Sydney Harbour. Now more than 33 million hours have been contributed by Australians towards the environment through Clean Up Australia Day.
We called Adelaide City Council to find out where we could be of service and it was kindly advised that GS Kingston Park/Wirrarninthi (Park 23) could do with some attention. That turned out to be very true, our team with 2 other community groups collected a total of 2,160 litres of rubbish and recycling which was removed from the parklands! Adelaide City Council collected all the bags of rubbish after the clean up and sorted out the recyclable rubbish and compostable material so that they did not end up in landfill.
Our team of almost 30 volunteers were blessed with perfect weather on the day. The whole day was a brilliant success and thanks must go to the volunteers for that, especially Site Supervisor Nosaiba. It’s always a beautiful thing when community members give selflessly from their time for the betterment of the whole. Everyone enjoyed the day and everyone stayed safe, there were no first aid or other incidents.
Clean Up Australia Day hasn’t released this year’s statistics yet but it will be interesting reading when they do. Last year’s statistics showed that more than three times the rubbish was collected in South Australian parks, up from 2017.
It was encouraging to see that this year the Australian National Council of Imams released a statement encouraging all Muslims to participate.
Our team looks forward to next year, we hope you can join us.
Until then, there’s so many things we can all be doing in our every day lives to REDUCE, REUSE and RECYCLE.
A total of NINE 240 litre bins of rubbish and recycling was removed from the parklands!
First Healthy Bladder & Bowel Info Session Well Received
The first of 3 Healthy Bladder and Bowel information sessions took place on Thursday the 14th of February, here at our office.
The session was very well attended and the feedback from the members was incredibly positive.
There are still 2 more sessions to go if you are a member and would like to come along. Click here to see the event flyer.
Community Resource: We try not to take people’s hate into our hearts
A group of young Muslim women living in Adelaide came together on this project to discuss different ways not to take people’s hate into their hearts, a very useful community resource at a time when Muslim women are regularly experiencing things like being stared at or yelled at in public.
Please visit the project page to view the full video and transcript.
Health & Wellbeing Sessions for All Members
A Few Words from One of Our Members
A few words from one of our lovely young ladies about why she likes being a part of the Muslim Women’s Association of SA.
If you would like to become a member and experience this for yourself, speak to us about joining.
Please keep in mind that services are delivered within the Adelaide metro region.
Do you have any feedback? We want to hear it!
Call our office on 08 8212 0800 during open hours, or email us at any time to admin@mwasa.org.au
Top Ten Posts of 2018
Twenty-eighteen was a wonderful year at the Muslim Women’s Association of SA, full of innovative projects and meaningful services for our members.
MWASA has been growing an online audience through our Facebook page and our new email subscription option for service providers. This is terrific as the internet is the fastest and easiest way for us to share information about our programs and upcoming events!
We are able to see which of our posts have performed the best throughout 2018, meaning which of our posts that you have engaged with the most by viewing, clicking and reacting.
Read on to see our number 1 most popular post of 2018, and on the way remember what a fantastic year 2018 was…
10th place
9th place
Leadership Workshop for Young Muslim Women
8th place
7th place
6th place
Volunteer Picnic at Bonython Park
5th place
4th place
3rd place
2018 Multicultural Community Event
2nd place
1st place
National Mosque Open Day at Masjid Al Khalil
CHSP Fitness Program: Both a Finishing and a Beginning
The CHSP (Commonwealth Home Support Program) 6 Week Fitness Program delivered in collaboration with ACH has finished. However, it looks to be an inspirational beginning as well.
All of the seniors were happy and social throughout the program.
At the beginning of the program, participants underwent a pre-fitness assessment and set some goals.
We are pleased to report that those who attended the workouts regularly reached their goals!
The regular participants who came every week built a strong connection with each other and offer each other encouragement.
The lesson learned is that when it comes to fitness and well-being: consistency is everything!
We look forward to supporting our seniors into the future with their fitness and well-being goals.
SGP Sustainability Session
The Muslim Women’s Association of SA always looks for SGP (Settlement Grants Program) presenters who can cover relevant issues for newly arrived women and their families.
On Thursday 29th November 2018, Nick Brummer and his team from the project “Adelaide Community Leaders Course in Sustainability” presented an information session at our office on recycling.
There was a visual presentation along with activities which made the information easy to understand and fun for the group. MWASA will make use of the “Mini Bin Game” donated to us for future programs. The game has 3 mini bins and a variety of household rubbish, the aim of the game is to put the rubbish in the correct bin.
Nick and his team were culturally sensitive and responded patiently to all group questions. This put the group at ease in asking questions and clearing all doubts.
Overall the session was well presented and we feel that the purpose of the project “Adelaide Community Leaders Course in Sustainability” was achieved since the group will be using what they have learned in their everyday life and reducing their impact on our environment.
Comments from the group
1. “I learnt a lot and (was) surprised to know that hair is a compost organic item”
2. “It is now clear how to sort different items”
3. “Removing lids from bottle is important”
4. “I will be more responsible after learning how hard people at the recycle depot work to make Australia a better place and to keep it clean. “
5. “Also we learnt how important it is to recycle correctly for the environment”
NEW Email Subscription Option
We’ve been working on ways to communicate better with everyone, and we’re happy to announce that the Service Provider Email Subscription option is now available!
The Muslim Women’s Association of SA enjoys working with various community groups and stakeholders and we appreciate that the easiest way to keep connected in a professional capacity is to have our updates delivered straight to your working email.
Click here to add your email address to our subscription list.
Community Resource: Surviving the Ocean of Depression
Excerpt taken from Surviving the Ocean of Depression.
In this project, asylum seekers and refugees who are now living in Australia generously share their experiences in overcoming hardships in order to reach, support and empower others. Stories are told in Arabic, Dari, Farsi, Nepali and Pashto.
This project was initiated by Dr Abdul Stanikzai. While working as an interpreter in Adelaide, he was called upon to translate for medical professionals responding to people from diverse language groups, some of whom had come to Australia seeking asylum and refuge, who were facing mental health crises (and as a result were in psychiatric wards). Dr Stanikzai recognised that mental health staff were struggling to find ways to respond and that it could be significant for those currently in crisis to be able to listen, in their own language, to stories from others who had been through similar experiences and who had managed to ‘overcome the ocean of depression’. Dr Stanikzai mentioned this to Dulwich Centre Foundation and this project is the result.
The resources contain stories from interviews conducted by Dr Stanikzai as well as contributions from the Muslim Women’s Association of South Australia.
Please visit the project page to learn more.
CHSP Fitness Classes taking Seniors from Strength to Strength
We have almost reached the end of the CHSP Fitness Program.
The seniors have been enjoying themselves thoroughly and are feeling stronger than ever!
Regular exercise is crucial to falls prevention. Regular exercise improves balance and reflexes so some falls can be avoided altogether. Further to that, regular exercise strengthens the musculoskeletal system so that even in the case of a fall, serious injury can be avoided.
Coffee with a Muslim: Watch this Space
MWASA Jubilee: Celebrating Supporting Muslim Women in Adelaide for over 25 years
On the afternoon of Saturday 22nd of September 2018, the Muslim Women’s Association of SA (MWASA) marked 25 years of supporting Muslim women in Adelaide by hosting a Jubilee celebration at the Clarence Park Community Centre.
Sister Ramila Chanisheff was a wonderful Master of Ceremony for the day, elegantly introducing performers and speakers and guiding us through the afternoon.
The event opened with a welcome speech from Vice Chairperson, Sister Azidah, who also acknowledged the founders of our organisation.
We were fortunate in being able to host several guests of honour: His Excellency the Honourable Hieu Van Le Governor of South Australia and Mrs Lan Le, and Assistant Minister to the Premier Jing Lee and Mr Eddie Liew.
The Governor addressed the room with a speech which was supportive and inspiring, and the Assistant Minister to the Premier Jing Lee’s speech was delightfully warm. Both speeches were entirely engaging due to the genuine charisma of our guest speakers.
In the speech by Chairperson Dora Abbas, she thanked our guests of honour for attending despite their busy schedules. As a token of appreciation, MWASA had prepared gifts for the guests of honour. Sister Dora also spoke about the outlook for MWASA over the next 10 to 15 years, and invited all members and their families to contribute and participate.
Brother Ahmed Sherbini lent his pleasant voice to proceedings with heartwarming Quran recitation, nasheed and athan (call for prayer).
A colourful stand-out from proceedings was the fashion show. Organised primarily by the Youth Group, the girls were able to express their individuality in both traditional and modern modest dress.
Of great interest was the showing of a slideshow showcasing the last 25 years. It was truly inspirational to see the journey that MWASA has been through, and then also to consider the continuation of that journey into the future.
A touch of sweetness was added to the afternoon with a couple of young ladies from Australian Islamic College (AIC) reading poetry that they had written.
Our Management Team would specifically like to thank:
- Ramila Chanisheff for her outstanding delivery as Master of Ceremonies
- June Hussain, Community Development Officer, and the team of volunteers for such successful organisation and execution
- All members and friends for attendance and participation
We are all immensely grateful to our volunteer team and sponsors who made this event possible and so enjoyable.
