Author: admin

Congratulations to Sr Miriam Silva AM

by admin, posted in Achievements, Announcement
Congratulations to Sr Miriam Silva on her award -AM 2022 on Queen’s Birthday for significant service to the multicultural community of South Australia, and to women.
Sr Miriam Silva AM
 
I first met Miriam when she was still at university. Intelligent, talented, hard working and focussed; she excelled not only in her studies, but even more so  in her chosen areas of work at Faulding, ANZ, Elders, and Fleet Partners. She applied her extensive corporate expertise to her various roles at SA Government (Chair of Premier’s Council for Women SA 2016-2021, Former Director of TAFE SA, Chair and Council Member 2013-2020 of Uni of SA). She was also passionate in helping vulnerable women (as Chair of InTouch Multicultural Centre against Family Violence since 2019), and various multicultural organisations including as Director of Crescent Institute and as former Chair of Malek Fahd School. Miriam was also President of South Australian and Northern Territory State Advisory Council, 2015-2021.
 
Five years ago , a diagnosis of an aggressive cancer did not stop her work . It only encouraged her to be more determined to help others. Her positive attitude with steadfast commitment is an inspiration to all Australians.
 
Sr Miriam has been a member on our Management Committee since 2010.
 
Dora Abbas, Chairperson of MWASA
28.6.22

SETS Youth decorate candles for Eid al-Adha!

by admin, posted in Most Recent Activity

We wrapped up our holiday events with a blast! Prior to Adelaide’s 7-day lockdown in July, we held a candle decorating session with our SETS Youth.

Many were excited at the opportunity to hand-craft home deco for the upcoming Eid al-Adha. The session was guided by our experienced home decorator, Sawson Alnadi, who guided them in customizing the candles, which required materials that you could find easily in any household!
The youths were very happy to learn how home decorating can be cost-effective and super easy.
It was amazing seeing our youths’ personal designs, and maybe some of you would’ve caught a glimpse of them during Eid al-Adha celebrations!

Cake Decorating with SETS Youth

by admin, posted in Most Recent Activity
Our holidays are going great and the cupcake decorating session we held last week was definitely the icing on the cake!
We had an experienced baker, Sidhra Khalid from Mimi Tu, come in to teach some of our girls techniques to use when decorating cakes! Our Youth’s creativity really shone through in their cakes; it was almost a pity to eat them!  

We are really glad we got to have this activity for our Youths, not only to have fun but to also try and learn new skills that they could use in the future!

CHSP Eid Lunch

by admin, posted in Most Recent Activity

If we’re talking about celebrations, we can’t possibly leave out the Eid Lunch we held for our CHSP seniors! It was an incredibly joyous event seeing as the seniors had been too busy during Ramadan to see each other, so this lunch gathering had been an excellent opportunity for them to catch up with each other after a month of Ibadah.

We had an overwhelming number of seniors attend the lunch event, many of them excited for the chance to meet with friends and grab a delicious meal. 

Seniors having lunch

Seniors having lunch

Seniors having lunch

Seniors having lunch

Despite the seemingly endless chatter, we managed to get the seniors to play some light games. ‘Bingo’ proved to be a crowd favourite as there were many laughs shared throughout the game. They also played a visual perceptual activity where they guessed the number of animals in a picture, which caused a lot of debate among the seniors. 

Bingo winners!

Game winners!

Game winners!

Big thank you to Tangritah Uyghur Shish Kebabs Restaurant for hosting lunch, we couldn’t have held a lunch as big as this without your help!

Food enjoyed by our seniors

Thanks to Saray Kebab House Cafe and Restaurant for the amazing deserts; the seniors had enjoyed them very much!

Desserts provided for our seniors

Looking forward to the next event with our CHSP seniors!

Staff Eid Lunch

by admin, posted in Most Recent Activity

Last week had been full of celebrations; among them was our staff Eid luncheon, where our volunteers, staff members and committee members gathered to enjoy  quality  staff   bonding  time.  

Staff enjoying their meal

It was a great opportunity not only for the staff to sit down and chat away from the workplace, but to meet with other members of staff they do not see regularly, as well as get aquianted with the new recruits.  The table was filled with conversation of all sorts, and plenty of laughter was shared throughout the meal.

Staff enjoying their meal

Big thank you to Saray Kebab House Cafe and Restaurant for hosting the luncheon. The food was marvelous and it’s safe to say that we left no plate untouched!

Spread provided by Sarey Kebab House 

The team is keen on seeing the rest of 2021 together and will continue to work hard to surpass our 2020 achievements.

Staff selfie

If you are interested in volunteering with us, visit our Volunteer Page or Contact Us on any of our available platforms. We look forward to hearing from you!

CHSP Fig Harvesting Day Out

by admin, posted in Seniors Program
It was a big day out in the Adelaide Hills for our CHSP seniors! On March 18th, we brought our seniors to spend the gorgeous Thursday morning at the Glen Ewin Estate for fig harvesting and afternoon tea.
 
 
The extraordinary weather along with the great atmosphere allowed for a great day of activity for our seniors. The time they spent picking figs of their choice was filled with chatter and ease.
 

Seniors fig harvesting

Despite the uneven terrain, many seniors were determined to spend as much of their time as possible under the sun and enjoying the thrill of harvesting their own figs. Unfortunately, because of this, the seniors found themselves too worn out to proceed to the Nauryz Celebration at the University of Adelaide, so chose to spend more time at the Estate and basking in the sun and eat their fruits. 
 

Seniors chatting with tea and figs

 
MWASA is keen to hold a similar event in the near future so that more of our seniors can experience the other gems of Adelaide while having a good time.
 

CHSP Talk- Protect Your Heart

by admin, posted in Most Recent Activity

MWASA organized a talk on heart in view of our CHSP* seniors’ overall health. Christine HYgonnet from the Heart Foundation SA presented on how to take care of their heart on 25 February 2021. 

Christine began the session by empahsizing the importance of understanding our heart before engaging in physical activities. She also shared warning signs of heart attack and what to do if you or someone is having one. 

Christine encouraged our seniors to take care of their heart by  following living a healthy lifestyle through following a healthy diet and joining free community based walking groups. 

The seniors received many giveaways from the Heart Foundation, including brochures, quick and easy recipes, a heart-shaped keyring and a pen. 

Interpreter for Uyghur speakers was present to facilate understanding of the topic. 

*CHSP= Commonwealth Home and Support Program

CHSP Film Screening “Kabullywood” and a Short Documentary “Bakery”

by admin, posted in Most Recent Activity

Our CHSP* seniors were treated to a free film screening “Kabullywood” and a short documentary “Bakery” at the Mercury Cinema on 18th February 2021. The film is part of a free series of 6-week screenings organized by the recently launched South Asian Seniors’ Film Club. Their aim is to build friendships and social connections for older South Australians, showcasing films from South Asia. 

It was a day full of fun and entertainment as our seniors were treated to free lunch of Afghan Borani Banjan served with fresh Afgan bread, muffins and warm saffron tea. 

*CHSP= Commonwealth Home and Support Program

CHSP BBQ Get Together

by admin, posted in Archived Events, Seniors Program

On the 14th of January 2021, MWASA organized a BBQ get-together with our CHSP* seniors in Thorndon Park. It was a perfect outing to start off the new year.

The seniors began the activity by strolling down the reservoir. This was a great opportunity for them to increase physical activity and therefore, improve their health and wellbeing.

Seniors taking a stroll.

 

While waiting for the food to cook, the seniors chatted away with their peers while appreciating the beautiful weather and scenery. Many even assisted to help with the cooking process!

Seniors enjoying the view.
Seniors helping out with the BBQ.
Seniors helping out with the BBQ.

Once the food was cooked, the seniors enjoyed the delicious spread of food with their peers while basking in the beautiful outdoors.

Seniors sitting down and enjoying the meal.

It can definitely be said that this outing was a very therapeutic and relaxing experience for the seniors and they are keen for future outings!

*CHSP= Commonwealth Home Support Program

Australian Law for You

by admin, posted in Archived Events

A session to explain Australian Law was organized on 21 January 2021 focusing on the most common issues brought up by our SETS* clients.

Clients listening to the talk.

Melanie and Ella from Legal Services Commission went through the rights of both the tenants and landlords, fines, what to do if you are involved in a car accident, marriage and divorce. They also provided all attendees with phone numbers to the legal services commission helpline and the translating and interpreting services available to them. In addition, all attendees were given a booklet with all the important information in their own language.

The session was informative and delivered using clear and simple terms. It helped them to correct some of their misinformation regarding Australian law. The attendees found the session to be very useful as they gained new information and it helped correct the misinformation they had on Australian law. We also had interpreters for both Arabic and Dari speakers were present.

Clients listening to the talk.

We hope to further provide our women with the knowledge that could help them in the future. 

SETS*= Settlement Engagement and Transition Support

CHSP Centrelink Talk

by admin, posted in Archived Events, Seniors Program

A talk on Centrelink payment was held on 28 January 2021 at MWASA for our CHSP* seniors.

CHSP Seniors at the Centrelink Talk in MWASA.

Tanya Kaplan from Services Australia began the session by sharing the general information on the types of payments available and its eligibility criteria as well as teaching the seniors how to navigate Centrelink for help.

Tanya Kaplan giving our seniors a talk.

Tanya also touched on the topic which was close to their heart, i.e. on age pension payment, providing information as to how much they received based on the Assets Test and factors that could affect payment such as leaving the country for a period of time.

An interpreter for Uyghur speakers was present to facilitate understanding of the topic.

The seniors were very attentive and engaged during the talk and enquired many questions. The seniors find informational talks like these to be very beneficial and hope to attend more in the future.

Seniors attentively listening to the talk.

*CHSP= Commonwealth Home Support Program