By Cam Lucadou-Wells
Black Rhinos basketballers have swapped dunking baskets for packing food parcels during the pandemic.
Under the umbrella of Afri-Aus Care, the players have delivered food and hygiene products for families in the organisation’s women’s groups in the South East since March.
After five long months, there’s no doubt the young athletes are missing their basketball.
But now they’re scoring the satisfaction of helping families in need with the weekly food drops – about 20 in Greater Dandenong, 35 in Pakenham and Cranbourne.
“It’s about connecting – they connect to families that they are not otherwise in contact with,” Afri-Aus Care Founder Selba_Gondoza Luka says.
The need is certainly real during Covid, with job and work-hour losses hitting the community hard, Ms Luka says.
Afri-Aus Care supply households of women and children with culturally-appropriate food items for instance.
It also offers culturally-appropriate counselling and referrals to appropriate agencies and GPs as the community suffers high rising levels of depression and anxiety.
More support in this area is needed, Ms Luka said,
Since the pandemic, the women’s groups can no longer meet in person. Beforehand, they’d regularly gather for gardening, sewing, cooking and help with domestic violence, mental health and parenting skills.
But Afri-Aus Care is keeping in touch online and through food deliveries.
Personally, Ms Luka takes refuge in morning prayer and meditation. It’s her “self-care” routine that helps her “help people to help others”.
“That’s what makes me happy. That I’m able to wake up and do the work I’ve always loved – which is to help people and mentoring the young people at Afri-Aus Care who have become leaders of today”
Her group, her work is built on the concept of ‘Ubuntu and the Positive Change Model’ – that is, “harmony and humanity,” she says.
“Under the Ubuntu concept, if someone is going to harm the family our community would do anything to protect you.”
Afri-Aus Care is flanked by young leaders like youth coordinator Atong Ayom.
“It’s all worth it seeing the reactions in the end,” she says of the food relief service.
“It’s a lot of work getting done, I love doing it.”
A law and youth work student, Ms Ayom is also support worker for “my boys” at the Black Rhinos Basketball B Team.
It’s a basketball program that doubles as crime prevention. She’s there to support them with all kinds of issues – like getting a job, fine struggles or family issues.
Meanwhile, digital content creator Vivian Tong who is a social worker at Afri Aus Care is on hand to “capture the moment of helping”. She wants her images to “empower the community”.
Afri-Aus Care sources the deliveries from the City of Greater Dandenong’s food relief program in Springvale, ADRA donations and Rotary Cluster Clubs donations.
They take care to tailor the parcels for African diets, with lots of fresh food, vegetables and cereals.
Ms Luka’s daughter Kwacha Luka tirelessly manages the Afri-Aus Care ADRA Springvale food relief centre. She says donations are starting to run out.
Donations such as money, canned food, rice, feminine hygiene products, nappies and milk are welcome.
Tax deductible donations can also be made to Afri-Aus Care via its Commonwealth Bank of Australia account, BSB 063 167 and account number 10841841.
