Youthful Recipes of Life Update

21/01/202021/01/2020 by admin, posted in Article, Gallery, Most Recent Activity

Last week the second “Recipes of Life” session – organised with Dulwich Centre as a series for youths – was held. The idea is to provide a platform for the young girls to express any family issues they face after coming to Australia.

The focus of this session was a discussion around ways young girls can address issues when dealing with parents and provide tips. These tips will later be put together as a resource that will be helpful for other parents and young girls in similar situation.

The recipe was named “Fixing the Family”.

The session provided participants space to discuss and share issues that concern them. Most had similar issues but different ways to find solutions. It was based on many factors such as culture, family values and more. It will be interesting to see how all this unfolds when we discuss this recipe from the girls at the next session with mums.

Feedback

“The session was helpful”

“We were able to express and comment”

“Never thought before things that we discussed and expressed today”

“Discussed things that we never spoke before outside in a group”

MWASA SETS Picnic at Bonython Park

20/01/2020 by admin, posted in Upcoming Events

FREE Community Event: Support for Jobseekers

14/01/2020 by admin, posted in Upcoming Events

RSVP Here

For your convenience, here is a flyer from the presenter.

Office Closure Mon 27 Jan 2020

14/01/2020 by admin, posted in Most Recent Activity, Upcoming Events

NEW Info Board at MWASA

16/12/201916/12/2019 by admin, posted in Article, Gallery

Communication is crucial in every context.

Here at MWASA, we continually try to communicate in the best way: with each other, with our members and with the community. This means trying new ways of communication and seeing if the new way is effective, clear and inclusive.

Sharing information online is a great way to reach a lot of people with no paper waste. Some of our members, however, don’t have regular and reliable access to technology, or struggle with the cyber skills needed to navigate the online world, or find it easier to read in languages other than English.

As a complementary method of communication, we will be updating the new Info Board located in the foyer in the same way that we post online: flyers, photos, milestones and information regarding daily operations. It has already become a mingling and talking point for the ladies coming in for classes. Look for it next time you’re in the office.

As a bonus, look for the spectacular aerial photo of Wilpena Pound, which is around 5 hours north of Adelaide in the Flinders Ranges. As a complete coincidence but as further evidence of the successful multicultural nature of our organisation, one of our members is from the Adnyamathanha tribe – the first nation people of the Flinders Ranges region.

Also located in the foyer, surrounding the Info Board, is a wide variety of information from community service providers and from the Australian Government. Although most booklets are in English, there are some available in different languages. There is information available on parenting, health issues effecting women, local events and attractions and more – and it is all free to take.

Please take note of our opening hours: 9:30am to 3:30pm Monday to Friday, with the exception of this coming end of year period where we will be closing from Tuesday 24th December and re-opening on Monday 6th January 2020. If coming in to inquire about a specific program, please call our office beforehand on 08 8212 0800, just to make sure that the program coordinator will be free for you. Thankyou.

EOY MWASA Team Lunch

10/12/2019 by admin, posted in Article, Gallery

Last week a number of the MWASA Team – including volunteers, staff members and management committee members – gathered to enjoy each others company and some yummy food.

One distinct difference between being a part of a Not for Profit Team as opposed to private commercial enterprise is that not all team members regularly see each other. Some of the tutors only come in to teach their students and go again until next week. Some of the Management Committee work full time and contribute entirely from passion after hours. Some team members are university students and their contributions are especially appreciated during exam times.

It takes special women to make up a dynamic team such as this. The conversation around the tables was fascinating, colourful, multicultural, at times very funny and other times a heavier reflection on academic or unpleasant things. Each woman is an overflowing vessel of life experience and knowledge.

Another of the collective virtues of our team members is the willingness to help women in the community, the very thing that brought us all together.

Not least, we must sing the praises of Pondok Daun on Currie Street. Lunch was ordered and delivered with no fuss. Pondok Daun is an Indonesian restaurant which consistently produces the highest quality meals, from nourishing soups to hearty kway teow to crunchy wontons with the very zingy chilli sauce.

The team looks forward to 2020, to matching every achievement of 2019 and far surpassing it inshaAllah.

If you would like to volunteer with MWASA in 2020, or know someone who would, please go to our Volunteer Page and submit your details.

MWASA 2019 End of Year Message

03/12/2019 by admin, posted in Article

As we approach the end of 2019, we take this opportunity to thank our members, service providers and friends in the community who have supported us throughout the year.
We look forward to working together again in 2020.

SETS Citizenship Session Specific to Syrians

02/12/201902/12/2019 by admin, posted in Article, Gallery, Most Recent Activity

Recently MWASA hosted a Citizenship Session under the SETS (Settlement Engagement and Transition Support) program, specifically for Syrian clients. The presenter had requested for it to be Syrians only, due to visa differences in clients from Syria and Afghanistan.

The presenter was Okke Velzeboer, from the Department of Home Affairs. Okke is the South Australian Community Liaison Officer in the Citizenship and Multicultural Programs Division.

The session covered the rights, responsibilities and privileges of being an Australian citizen. Okke also went through the eligibility criteria, application process, documents required, interview and citizenship test and application processing duration.

The ladies enjoyed the session and had lots of questions to ask from the presenter. The session was fun and also very informative and useful as the ladies will soon be eligible to apply for citizenship.

Commemorating 125 years since Suffrage with The Hon Irene Pnevmatikos MLC

28/11/201928/11/2019 by admin, posted in Article, Gallery, Most Recent Activity

Muslim Women’s Association of SA was invited by the Hon Irene Pnevmatikos MLC (Member of the Legislative Council) to tour Parliament House last week, to commemorate the 125th anniversary of women’s suffrage in South Australia.

It was truly a wonderful experience for the women coming from diverse cultural backgrounds. For some it was their first time visiting Parliament House, which is a whole experience from arriving at the front steps through to leaving enriched with historical and political knowledge.

The afternoon was full of learning and discovery.

Thank you, Irene, for hosting us!

Multicultural Community Event hosted by the Hon Jing Lee MLC

27/11/2019 by admin, posted in Article, Gallery, Most Recent Activity

Jing Lee’s Multicultural Community Event was a very well attended and successful celebration at the Norwood Town Hall, accompanied by delightful cultural performances.

Amid the big crowd of multicultural community representatives, the Hon Jing Lee was – as always – a warm and welcoming host!

When Premier Marshall took to the stage, he highly commended Jing Lee on her outstanding achievement as the Assistant Minister to the Premier and this was greeted with loud applause.

There were 10 Liberal MPs (Members of Parliament) present at this year’s annual occasion.

AMRC 2019 AGM

27/11/201927/11/2019 by admin, posted in Article, Gallery, Most Recent Activity

It was truly a privilege to be part of the AMRC (Australian Migrant Resource Centre) AGM (Annual General Meeting) last week.

AMRC have done a great job with the youth. They are all groomed to be future leaders in South Australia as well as in their respective communities.

Well done AMRC!

1.2K+ Facebook Likes!

26/11/2019 by admin, posted in Article

If you haven’t Liked our Facebook page yet, head on over right now to click Like. It’s the most convenient way to stay up to date, by receiving immediate updates straight into your Newsfeed.

Students ACE Salad Making

22/11/2019 by admin, posted in Article, Gallery, Most Recent Activity

Wow!

Last week the ACE Students engaged themselves in promoting a healthy lifestyle by making a variety of sumptuous mouth watering salads using different combinations of freshly cut vegetables dressed with sauces and spices.

The overall lesson learned during the class was to add a portion of fresh salad vegetables into the daily diet.

The salads were then arranged into a colourful and enticing salad bar. Who doesn’t love a salad bar?!

The students showed a lot of enthusiasm in participating and exhibiting their creativity and skills. In fact, each participant seemed to be a connoisseur of salad owing to her own tastes and blending.

In short, it was a wonderful get together and a fun activity which shows that our students are not only good in gaining knowledge and learning skills but have the ability of put them into practice with a vibrant performance and presentation.

Migration Museum a Must at any Age!

14/11/201914/11/2019 by admin, posted in Article, Gallery, Most Recent Activity

A visit to the Migration Museum was scheduled on 26 September 2019 as part of the CHSP (Commonwealth Home Support Program).

The excursion coincided with the celebration of the 22^nd year of the SALA (South Australian Living Artists) Festival, where 8,000 artists participated in 700 exhibitions across Adelaide and regional SA.

Ten members participated in this event.

The group started with a leisurely walk to the Migration Museum. The weather was excellent and the 30 minute walk was good exercise for the seniors.

The Migration Museum offers a range of permanent and temporary exhibitions and activities. The exhibitions that were showcased on the day include:

Portraits of Elizabeth explores the migration experience and the resilience of community through the stories of Elizabethans, both past and present.
Island Welcome Exhibition explores contemporary jewellery as a gesture of greeting in response to current Australian immigration and refugee policy.
Leaving Britain & Establishing South Australia explores what it was like for British settlers making the journey to South Australia and taking the first steps towards building a new colony.

Next, the seniors visited the Art Museum which showcased the exhibition “Love From Damascus: The art of devotion in Islam”. The exhibition explores the divine and worldly aspects of Islamic devotion expressed artistically over one thousand years.

A Cross Cultural Exploration of Women’s Rights Through Time

13/11/201913/11/2019 by admin, posted in Article, Gallery, Most Recent Activity

One Saturday towards the end of September, MWASA (Muslim Women’s Association of SA) held “A cross-cultural exploration of women’s rights through time to commemorate 125 years of women’s suffrage in SA”.

The event was held in the Bradley Forum of the Hawke Centre, on the UniSA City West campus. UniSA allows the centre to be used for educational free community events and we acknowledge and thank them for that.

The event was opened with a lovely Quran recitation from Sister Ulfat. She recited paragraph 35 of the chapter Al Ahzab (known in English as The Confederates) in the original Arabic and then the English translation was shared so that everybody could fully appreciate the meaning. For your convenience we have included the paragraph here.

Following the Quran recitation, Chairperson Dora Abbas welcomed the gathering with a few dignified words.

Each speaker of the day was introduced by a supremely elegant MC: Sister Peta Abdalla.

The Guest of Honour for this event was Katrine Hildyard MP. Katrine works tirelessly towards bettering the lives of all South Australians. In Katrine’s fight for a fair and inclusive society she has actively encouraged and made space for CaLD women to have their voice heard in parliament. She shared with us a few words about her own personal journey and experiences as a female Member of Parliament. Everyone present was touched by Katrine’s words, she is truly a brave and highly motivated woman.

Presenting directly on the SA women’s suffrage movement was Mandy Paul. Mandy is Director at the SA Migration Museum and she herself contains an immense wealth of state history. Her speech was accompanied by a slideshow, it was very interesting to put faces to the names of the leading suffragists and their key supporters. Whilst celebrating the achievements of the suffragists, we must acknowledge and respect that the same freedoms were not extended to Aboriginal men and women until much later. We are grateful for and enriched by Mandy’s unbiased talk.

Presenting a Muslim woman’s perspective on the SA women’s suffrage movement was Melati Lum. Melati Lum is a practising lawyer specialising in public law and criminal prosection, an Australian/Malay/Chinese Muslim mum, and author of the Ayesha Dean mystery series for children. In her spare time, she is working on her next novel for a young adult audience. Melati brought several historical Muslim women to life for the audience by recounting some monumental achievements. There is a misconception that Islam oppresses women, when in reality it is humans who oppress each other and rather Islamic guidelines provide structure where a woman can be heard and be successful with her education and/or business empire.

Proceedings were concluded with an opportunity for all attendees to network over refreshments.

Catering

Event Feedback

Everybody had the opportunity to provide feedback after the event. A template was provided asking specifically how satisfied people were with everything from promotions before the event, to the venue and seating, to each of the speeches. We can proudly say that we received 5 out of 5 across the board!