Banana bread might top the list of most Googled recipes by quarantine cooks, but for CatholicCare’s Sunshine Health and Wellbeing Group, it is pasta bolognese and cupcakes that are on the menu.
Pre-COVID, the group of Chin and Burmese refugees would meet weekly at the Sunshine Community Centre, however when social distancing restrictions were introduced, all CatholicCare group activities were suspended. For the last few weeks, the group have turned to Zoom to watch volunteer Taddea cooking up a storm in the comfort of her own kitchen. Some of the participants have purchased ingredients to follow along in their own kitchens; others are content to watch.
The Settlement Team have worked hard to bring the group online to maintain connections. Salai – CatholicCare Settlement Support Worker – reached out to all participants via phone, emailing links to Zoom and assisting them to install the app and log in to sessions.
CatholicCare is now offering remote group sessions for refugees on a range of topics, including Citizenship Preparation, English Language, Job Readiness, and the Wyndham Homework Group.
Like the Sunshine Health and Wellbeing Group, these sessions offer training in specific areas, but they are also an opportunity for participants to connect with other newly-arrived refugees, to exchange ideas and gain peer support. During lockdown, these opportunities to connect are more important than ever.
“Refugee and asylum seeker families have been particularly vulnerable since COVID-19,” says Jawid Sayed, Manager New Arrivals and Intercultural Programs. “At the beginning when COVID first emerged, people were very confused – they didn’t understand what it was, how it was transmitted, how to stay safe. There wasn’t a lot of resources available in other languages, so our Settlement Workers called every client to check they were okay and to distribute information.”
“Then came the job losses as our clients – many who were in casual and part time roles – had their hours reduced or were laid off. We assisted clients to access Emergency Relief and helped them with applications (e.g. for JobSeeker and JobKeeper at Centrelink and other departments). We will continue to be busy helping them to find jobs in a very challenging environment.”
Back at the Sunshine Zoom group, Taddea is taking her cupcakes out of the oven while the other participants congratulate Nancy whose cupcakes look perfect. Later they will share photos of their cooking success on Viber – another online platform they have learned to use.
Salai marvels at how well the community have been able to embrace the new technologies. “The community is resilient,” he says. “They have adapted to the conditions and are keen for opportunities to engage with the services.”
Find out more about our refugee and asylum seeker programs.
Support vulnerable families affected by COVID-19
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