By Cam Lucadou-Wells
Crime Prevention Minister Natalie Hutchins has lauded a Springvale South-based ‘success story’ that’s empowering mothers and their families.
More than 100 women have been supported by the Ubuntu Empowering Mothers program run by Afri-Aus Care.
On a visit on 27 May, Ms Hutchins said the project was about “connecting and empowering mums, and empowering the whole family”.
“If we can connect mums to better education for themselves or better jobs then we know that the family is also going to thrive.
“And the work that’s being done here is literally changing lives for the better.”
By tackling conflict within the family home, the program is also helping to keep young people on-track and out of the courts.
The program has received more than $1 million from the Government as a community crime-prevention intitiative, with funding announced for a second year.
Ms Hutchins said there was no comparison to the costs of crime and imprisonment to the community.
“I don’t even know if theres’ a dollar value you can put on the outcomes of this because it is giving an opportunity to many families to get ahead in life.
“And that’s what we want to do.”
At the homely Afri-Aus Care headquarters with a luscious organic vegetable garden, the women are offered a safe place to share their most heart-breaking stories.
They cook and share meals as well as share taboo topics such as marriage breakdown, kids caught in crime, mental health and family violence.
They are offered support services such as counselling and emergency housing.
Many of the women overcome barriers to paid employment, such as in aged-care, disability care and customer care service.
Conversational English is taught, resumes created and employers cold-called.
Afri-Aus Care offers a free shuttle bus to women to commute to workplaces across Melbourne.
They hail from diverse South Sudanese tribes Neur, Dinka, Chollo, Anuak as well as other parts of the African continent and Chinese, Indian and Russian backgrounds.
The Ubuntu project is the focus of University of Melbourne research through The African Research and Engagement in Australia Initiative (AREiA).
It is founded on the African philosophy of Ubuntu – which promotes connection.
Strong relationships between people, their families and communities. ‘I am because we are’, seeing yourself in other people.
Afri-Aus Care founder and chief executive Selba-Gondoza Luka said the “strengths-based” program was “highly infectious and successful”.
“For a woman to see me as a CEO say I am equal to you, it is making women want to come to the centre.”
