Refugee Tutoring

In Brisbane St Vincent de Paul has developed a special volunteer program where individuals can assist refugees in the Brisbane, Logan and Ipswich areas. The idea is to provide them with educational, social and vocational opportunities within the community with your assistance.

I had learnt about this type of program being run a couple of years back and have been trying to keep my ear out for something similar. So finally I have got around to looking into such a program and found this specific one.

If people want to know more about the program or would like to volunteer then refer to the official website: http://www.refugeetutoring.org/index.php.

Presently this particularly program only caters for those areas mentioned above. Perhaps there are other similar programs available in your area, feel free to add these as a comment to this post. Pin It

Get up - community action

I have been a 'member' or interested public participant in the Get Up ogranisation for a little while now. Mostly just get their emails, see what their up to and vote on actions I support when something comes up. Great place for information that seems to support my morals and life direction. Great place to start your action without a lot of effort.


You can get more information about them and their campaigns on their website, which is http://www.getup.org.au/. From there you will see whether it suits you and whether you'd also like to sign up for their emails and maybe participate in their program of action.

Some of the campaigns that they are interested in:

• easier access to enrolment for voting
• refugees
• climate change
• native forests
• internet censorship
• paid maternity leave
• mental illness, etc

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The Pacific and global warming...what will be the impact?

I have started to think about how I might make a difference to the broader global community in terms of the environment. My daydreamings have led me to thinking of climate change refugees and in particular how island communities within the Pacific region (my neck of the woods) will be affected.

I am now further developing my daydream to think about how I can assist communities that are likely to displaced as a result of global warming/climate change. I thought perhaps there is a job through one of the aid agencies or non-government ogranisations that I could fill and thus just step into action. Well, I haven't found it yet. Perhaps I need to create my own job. Passionate people can make all sorts of things happen.

I guess I first have to find out which communities will be affected in the Pacific and see what tasks need to be undertaken either to assist them to adapt to their new conditions, go to task with governments (be that their own or other nations) to assist them further or perhaps relocate them (but where to and is it as easy as that?).

I recall from my memory that there are communities within PNG already starting to be affected by climate change or needing relocation as a result of sea level rise. I know there seems to be more frequent storm events within the Pacific and surely this creates issues for local communities. More research on my behalf is needed before action is warranted. Pin It

Climate Change Refugees - Tuvalu

Well in the face of climate change there have been a number of news pieces on climate change refugees. This social injustice intrigued me and I wanted to see whether there was anything I could do as an individual to assist such people. After a little research and reading a book on Tuvalu, which is said to be one of the first island nations to be impacted upon as a result of sea level rise and associated climate change events here are some of my thoughts.

I don't think I am any wiser, but perhaps just a little more educated on my ignorance. From reading the book on Tuvalu it seems that this island isn't actually going to become uninhabitable as a result of sea level rise in the first instance, but rather the inundation of their groundwater by sea water and thus their land becoming inappropriate for the agricultural purposes. Storm events with associated large storm surges are also likely to impact on the margins of the island. All leading to the population of this nation needing to move to other locations.

In the face of this certainty, some Tuvaluans are looking to opportunities outside their nation now rather than waiting for significant events to force their departure from their nation. Many are currently looking to New Zealand for employment opportunities, but those that are unskilled or want to remain in their homes, it is likely that forced migration may be the only option.

Other things that I have learnt from my research and may discuss at a later date on this blog, include:

• some refugee activists, researchers and government bodies do not like the term 'climate change refugee'. Reasons range from the fact that refugee organisations and funding bodies can't cope with the types of refugees that they currently have to deal with without adding more people to this stretched system;
• forced migration rather than climate change refugees is another term which has been used and perhaps is more appropriate without unduly burdening existing systems;
• there are a multitude of attitudes from the people that occupy climate change stricken countries to leaving their nations;
• climate change in regards to sea level rise and associated impacts is likely to affect a significant portion of the world's population, but in majority of cases people that will be impacted upon will be citizens of the third world;
• contributors to climate change impacts are in most cases from first world countries.

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