AFFMA is seeking a Volunteer Grant Writer to join our team. Our goal for 2015 and 2016 is expand the scope of our services, and reach a greater number of refugees with our growing base of voluntary Migration Agents.
Since we do not receive any government funding, we solely rely on donations and fundraising events. In order to obtain the necessary funding to continue our work into 2016, we are seeking an experienced grant writer to help us with grant proposals.
In this position you will be able to work from home. If you are interested in applying, please contact us with an expression of interest outlining your skills and qualifications <fundraising@affma.org.au>
Receptionist Wanted
AFFMA is seeking a volunteer receptionist to assist the Practice Manager for two days per week. Reception experience is desirable.
Preference will be given to candidates who can commit 6-12 months to our organisation. If this sounds like you, please show your interest by sending us an email with your skills and qualifications to <PracticeManager@affma.org.au>
Fundraising Managers Wanted (Paid Positions)
AFFMA is seeking three applicants to be in charge of all the fundraising aspects of the organisation. This would involve being in charge of AFFMA‘s social media presence, as well as formulating new ideas for marketing AFFMA and seeking donors and contacting them to raise much needed funds.
Applications must be experienced and have a proven track record in fundraising activities as these positions are essential for the success of our organisation since we receive no government funding. The positions may become paid from 2016 upon review of performance and total funds raised. Please email <fundraising@affma.org.au>
Commercial Advertising
If you would like to advertise your business or commercial venture in this section like David Vuong Travel has done, please email <newsletter@affma.org.au>
Do You Have A Vacancy You Wish To Advertise?
AFFMA‘s Members can advertise vacancies free of charge. Deadline for our next issue is 15 November 2015.
Thousands of Australians united across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth to express their concerns and apply further pressure on both sides of politics to act and end the offshore processing of asylum seekers on both Manus Island and Nauru.
The march for solidarity was organised by the Refugee Action Coalition on 11 October 2015, which saw a crowd of approximately 2000 gather at Town Hall, Sydney.
The first speaker to address the crowds was Newtown Greens MP Jenny Leong, who opened the event by condemning the lack of policy reform with the succession of the Turnbull government, stating:
“Although we are seeing rallies like this across the country, not just this weekend but many weekends that have passed, that will continue to grow into the future, we [must continue] show [to] the political leadership and the so called political opposition in this country [that they] are failing to reflect the compassion of our community..”
Rally Calls For The Deportation And Sexual Abuse Of One Of The Asylum Seekers
She continued to address the state of emergency and nationwide disgust over the deportation of 23-year-old Abyan, one of the two Somali refugee women who have fallen victim of sexual violence on Nauru.
Abyan was recently brought to Australia to request medical treatment for a pregnancy she sustained as a result of sexual abuse, following the Nauruan government’s decision to allow all detainees to roam free around the island nation.
According to her statement, which has since been published in various media outlets, she was denied access to her lawyer and translator, and denied emergency health care. Before her lawyers could appeal the decision she was forcibly deported back to Nauru by Australian officials, with Immigration Minister Peter Dutton denying that such requests were made.
The events have sparked a series of emergency protests across the country, with eleven students recently being detained after occupying the Department of Immigration Office in Sydney demanding authorities meet Abyan’s needs.
Doctor Exposes Wrongdoing And Suffering Of Detainees In The Hope Of Stopping It
Highly respected paediatrician David Isaacs, a whistle-blower who still faces two years imprisonment if he discloses information about Nauru under the Border Force Act, also took the stage to express his concerns about the level of torture and suffering he witnessed while working with detainees on Nauru.
Brett Holmes spoke on behalf of the Nurses and Midwives Union; further denouncing the restrictions the Australian Border Force Act 2015 (Cth) has imposed on health care professionals, restricting the reporting of instances of human rights abuses.
He spoke regarding the recent stand off between the staff of the Royal Children’s Hospital and immigration authorities, as hospital staff have refused to discharge asylum seeker children back into detention, with concerns that discharging them back into an unsafe environment would compromise their health.
As Brett Holmes stated:
“This law effectively denies health professionals the ability to fulfil their duty of care to report incidences of abuse, or unfair treatment. Gaoling workers for speaking out about conditions of their employment is a contravention of the International Labour Organisation’s standards on the freedom of expression in the work force. The Border Force Act runs counter to the very protection of workers that the International Union Movement has fought for, for centuries. As a wealthy nation Australia has a moral obligation to do more to address this global humanitarian crisis.”
Also among the speakers was Ian Ritoul a leading spokesperson for the Sydney Refugee Action Coalition and Abdul Hakim a Syrian refugee who fled the civil war and has resettled with his family in Australia.
The supporters then marched through George Street progressing onto Hyde Park where more speakers greeted them in the afternoon.
This month’s newsletter is about encouraging you to become an active member of our AFFMA team by urging you to assist us in ensuring our charity can continue to provide vital assistance to asylum seekers and refugees in need.
AFFMA has helped protect the lives of refugees, asylum seekers and their families and wishes to carry on doing so. AFFMA does not receive and has not received any funding either from the State or Federal Government. Therefore over the last two years we have relied on public donations to cover the organisation’s administrative costs which include the rent for our premises in Newtown.
We believe that we are if not the only, one of the very few office based charities in Australia that is 100% run by volunteers. This includes all office staff, managers, accountants, lawyers, board members, newsletter staff, migration agents and the CEO. We are all professional people donating our time.
This means that every single cent donated goes towards running the charity and helping refugees get their protection visas.
We are running low on funds and to continue protecting refugees and asylum seekers we need your help. Whether it is a big or small donation, every contribution means so much to our organisation. Please carry on reading to see how you can make a difference and to see what we can do for you.
What Is $1?
A dollar essentially does not get you a cup of coffee (decent coffee) in Sydney, however, this $1 can be looked upon as a blessing for AFFMA to continue to help people that have lost their voice. A dollar donated to AFFMA will go towards a great cause that will change someone’s life!
What is in it for you?
When giving to a charity like AFFMA you can be assured that the money you give will go directly to the people you are intending to help.
A Harvard Business School study suggests that giving to others is directly correlated with an increased sense of happiness. The Harvard researchers write: “Happier people give more and giving makes people happier, such that happiness and giving may operate in a positive feedback loop.”
The Bigger The Donation, The Bigger The Impact!
If you are donating personally:
What you will receive with a donation of $1000 or more…
Firstly wow!
Secondly we would like to honour your generous contribution by posting your name and picture on our website for the next 12 months as being one of our valued sponsors.
You will also receive a certificate of the donation with your name printed on.
If you own a business:
As an owner of a business you know that marketing and advertising takes up a large part of your financial budget a year.
To thank you for your donation we are offering you the chance to advertise your business for FREE. With a rapidly growing 2000+ subscribers to our newsletter you will be able to advertise your business to thousands of other businesses and potential customers.
What you will receive with a donation of $500 or more…
Your business name will appear on our website only, for the next 12 months, as one of our sponsors / supporters.
What you will receive with a donation of $1000 or more…
We will feature your business name, a picture of your business, a short description about the nature of your business in our newsletter, for the following months: November and December.
You will also be listed on our website for the next 12 months as being one of our valued sponsors.
Additionally you will receive the added bonus of knowing you made an impact on the life of someone who truly needs it, which is truly the highest reward there is.
We would like to give you a BIG Thank You in advance for your contribution and would also like to thank you on behalf of the people you have helped and their families.
The monthly donation:
You are able to transform the lives of people that need OUR help through what AFFMA prides itself on – providing free immigration advice to financially disadvantaged people who are eligible for a protection visa. By signing up to the monthly donation you secure AFFMA’s future and you will be supporting people that need OUR help.
Get involved, change the world with a donation to a great cause and make a difference.
The number of asylum seekers arriving in Greece (a country with approximately 11 million people) by boat this year has now exceeded half a million. Read more: http://www.unhcr.org/56263d536.html
