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A refugee family will receive a warm welcome in Western Australia after a desire to help with a global issue led to local action by members of the Rockingham Mandurah Lutheran Church.
WA District Bishop Emeritus Mike Fulwood is a member of the Rockingham Mandurah Lutheran Church Refugee Welcome and Support Group, supported by LLL, that was formed to take part in the Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot (CRISP) program.
Mike and his fellow volunteers secured the budget required to take part in the CRISP program through extensive fundraising efforts, including a Vintage High Tea event attended by around 100 people that raised $6,000.
Moved by this powerful and inspirational work that proves a small group of people can make a lifechanging impact globally with vision and a welcoming hand, LLL supported their efforts with a matching $6,000 LLL Special Ministry Grant.
CRISP, introduced by the Federal Government in 2022, aims to provide local communities with the opportunity to help a refugee family settle in their area over a 12-month period.
Community Supporter Groups (CSGs) of five or more volunteers have been formed around the country to welcome families identified by the UNHCR as being in urgent need of resettlement.
These families seeking to set up new lives will receive support from their CSG in a range of areas, including securing housing, learning English, enrolling their kids in school, finding work, getting a driver's licence and opening bank accounts.
"The group just felt a draw to do something about the plight of refugees," Mike said.
"We hear a lot about the issue, the numbers are staggering, and there is a sense of a 'call', a sense that this is part of our Christian work, which is to care for those in need.
"It's been something that's been in my heart for a long period of time, about our response as a nation to the plight of refugees, and this is a very practical opportunity to do something meaningful about that."
The group is waiting to be assigned a family and looks forward to welcoming a refugee family soon.
Photos: A Vintage High Tea helped raise crucial funds for the CRISP program.
