This Refugee Week, Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv, Bishop of Parramatta, has launched a new campaign for local food drives to feed people who have fled their country in fear of their lives but, because of their bridging visas restrictions, cannot work, nor receive government support in Australia.
Parishes and schools in the Diocese are urged to collect food essentials for Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) at Parramatta, and House of Welcome (HOW) at Granville.
Both organisations operate a ‘food bank’ whereby people who have fled their countries and are now seeking safety in Western Sydney, can receive, for some, their only food each week.
Food banks save lives
“I felt so ashamed,” says refugee Magdalene, when she realised she had no other way of receiving food as she had no money and no permission to work in Australia. She went without food for three days before receiving food from the JRS food bank. There she saw other people who also relied on the service.
“When you see lots of people coming in you realise that ‘I’m not the only one in this situation’,” she says. “This (food bank) is helping a lot of people to eat, and it’s saving their lives.”
Food banks essential for those on bridging visas
House of Welcome case manager Kaydee Jakosalem, says, “Our food bank relies almost entirely on the generosity of the community who donate to us.”
“So many of our clients are on bridging visas, and many of them are on bridging visas that do not permit them the right to work in Australia,” she says, adding that they don’t receive Medicare benefits either.
The Diocese of Parramatta has launched information for parishes and schools on how the food banks at JRS and HOW work, and how to organise a food drive. It can be found at parracatholic.org/fooddrive.
JRS worker, Michael Melville says, “We couldn’t do this without you. We don’t have huge funding or anything like that. Everything that we give out, we rely on you to give us so that we can share it out with other people.”
The Parramatta Way
Bishop Vincent reminds those in the Diocese of Parramatta that looking after others is ‘the Parramatta Way’.
“As it says in Micah: He has told you O mortal, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God,” he says.
For information on how to organise a food drive for those on bridging visas who have no where else to turn, and to view the video go to parracatholic.org/fooddrive