A Central West organisation is collecting winter clothing and food to help refugees and asylum seekers through their first Australian winter as part of its Refugee Week activities.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mums4Refugees formed a chapter in the Central West last year to help people from refugee backgrounds who live in the Central West.
Central West convener Anna Noonan said the group gathered four car-loads of newborn nappies, children's clothes and toys last year.
She said this year, particularly during Refugee Week from June 16 to 22, the group collected winter clothing for children and their parents who have settled in the Central West, Blue Mountains and Sydney were experiencing their first Australian winter and were unprepared for the cold.
"These are people who have left Nauru since last winter," Ms Noonan said.
Our favourite [pillowcase] is one that says 'your dreams are valid'.
- Anna Noonan
However, she said their main achievement this year was working with Blayney, Canobolas and Orange councils to become Refugee Welcome Zones bringing them into line with surrounding shires including the Blue Mountains, Bathurst, Lithgow, Dubbo, Cowra and Parkes.
The Refugee Welcome Zone declaration will be signed by mayor Reg Kidd at a Dreams for Freedom event at Orange Regional Museum on Friday, June 21.
The Refugee Week event, is being run by Mums4Refugees, Orange Social Justice Group and Orange City Council at 6pm and will feature and blanket and 30 pillowcases designed by Orange children, which were made on Harmony Day.
"The young woman [11-year-old Ayesha Jameel Khan] who came up with the idea of the pillowcases, she was a refugee herself," Ms Noonan said.
"She's coming here tonight to collect [the pilllowcases] and take them back to Sydney [to give to refugee children]."
Ms Noonan said the children, who used fabric markers to create the colourful designs, came from all backgrounds and were aged from 18 months to 15 years of age.
"Our favourite is one that says 'your dreams are valid'," Ms Noonan said.
The refugee and asylum seeker community in Orange is estimated to include about a dozen Sudanese and South Sudanese families, three Rohingya families, eight or nine families from Sri Lanka as well as some from Iraq, Iran and Cambodia.
People can donate food and warm clothing to Spring Street Child Care Centre, the HACC, Orange Baptist Church, Yarrawong Children's Centre and Good Eddy Cafe until July 5.
The Dreams of Freedom event and exhibition will also include a reading from My Two Blankets by Orange illustrator Freya Blackwood, an African drumming performance from Mohamed Bangoura, and several talks and speeches by refugees Mohamed and Hanaa Hamdin and refugee advocates.
The Dreams for Freedom event is free and everyone is welcome. To book phone 6393 8600.
DO YOU WANT MORE ORANGE NEWS?
- Receive our free newsletters delivered to your inbox, as well as breaking news alerts. Sign up below ...
