We would like to welcome Sofia’s three siblings from Eritrea, who arrived safely in Brisbane last month. They received an interest-free travel loan from Sanctuary Australia Foundation. Sofia escaped Eritrea in 2009 due to ongoing persecution for being a Christian, and she spent two years suffering in Sudan as a refugee. Sofia’s mother and father here were very happy now … Read More
Burmese family arrive in Coffs Harbour
Sanctuary recently welcomed a new Chin family of 6 to Coffs Harbour. The Chin are a persecuted Christian minority in Burma, that have suffered terribly at the hands of the Burmese military including arbitrary arrests, torture and mistreatment, forced labour and extrajudicial killings. The father of the family, escaped from the hands of the Burmese military as they suspected that … Read More
The Sanctuary Helfgott Anniversary Concert 2018
The Sanctuary Helfgott Anniversary Concert will be held on Sunday , April 22nd at the Bellingen Memorial Hall (in Bellingen, near Coffs Harbour), starting at 2.30pm. This wonderful event will celebrate 30 years of Sanctuary’s work, helping refugees from many war-torn parts of the world. All funds raised will be carefully used to provide direct assistance to needy refugees. Renowned … Read More
Barriers for physical activity and leisure participation among refugees in Australia
Sanctuary Australia Foundation has partnered with Western Sydney University to deliver a project in Coffs Harbour that has the aim of evaluating the factors that influence the patterns of physical activity and leisure participation among ex-refugees settled in the region. The project also intends to identify how these factors might be related to the mental health and well being of … Read More
Welcome Alain from the Congo!
I am a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo. I fled my country in February 2010. During the war, my step-father was suspected of being a spy due to a misunderstanding among friends. My step-father refused to join the rebels and so these ‘so called’ friends colluded to kill him. Our step-father was aware of their plan to attack our house … Read More
Reunited after 10 long years!
The wife and children of Ajith Bol have finally arrived to join him in Adelaide! They met in Kakuma refugee camp, both refugees from the terrible war in S. Sudan, and married. When Ajith received a special humanitarian visa to come to Australia, they had no idea that the process for his family to be reunited with him in Australia … Read More
Sudanese family to be reunited in Adelaide
There was a terrible war in South Sudan in 1983. This was a time of great sadness and fear, my mother and father were killed by the people from the North. Leaving Sudan for Ethiopia I ran from South Sudan and eventually found a home in a refugee camp in Ethiopia. I stayed there with my brother and cousin for eleven years. … Read More
Ex-refugees into work
Manyuon Malak Mou arrived in Coffs Harbour as a young child 22 years ago, from Kakuma Refugee Camp in N. Kenya. His family was sponsored, supported and settled by Sanctuary Australia Foundation. With Sanctuary’s help, Manny was recently successful in attaining a position with local solar company SI Clean Energy, a local solar company. He has completed Certificate 4 in Environmental Science … Read More
Re-united with her children after 20 years
After 20 years, Marcella was reunited with her children after leaving Sierra Leone due to war. Marcella had fled her home when militias invaded her house looking for her son, so that they could turn him into a child soldier. Luckily her children were at their friend’s house at the time the militia arrived. Unfortunately, this meant that Marcella was separated … Read More
A Country Of My Own?
This is a poem by Sebastine Kamara. She came to Australia in 2007 after spending 14 years in Ghana as a refugee. She came with 5 of her older siblings. Her parents and 6 of her remaining siblings are still at the camp because their visas were cancelled due to their father’s illness. She currently lives in Lavington NSW, with … Read More