A group of Redland locals is welcoming into the community a family desperately in need of its safety and security.
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that more than 35 million people around the world have had to leave their homes and become refugees.
War and violence, persecution and oppression, and increasingly frequent natural disasters have forced people to leave their homes and seek safety in another country.
The Community Refugee Integration and Settlement program, initiated by the Commonwealth Government, helps community groups like ReSet (Refugee Settlement) to welcome and support people who have been found by UNHCR to be genuinely in fear of their lives and thus requiring protection.
Some have been in refugee camps or temporary accommodation for years. They long to be able to live in safety, support themselves, educate their children and fit in to their new home.
ReSet organiser Kylie Colville said that while the group could not solve this world problem, it could take in just one family and help them settle in a place where they can start their lives afresh.
“The group will meet them at the airport, arrange their accommodation, take them through the paperwork to access government services and enrol them in language classes and schools,” she said.
“Above all, they’ll make them feel welcome and help them to understand and integrate into our Australian way of life.”
Ms Colville said the group expected to host its first family in the next few months.
For more information email redlandsreset@gmail.com. Donations can be made at shoutforgood.com/fundraisers/reset.
