Some of the most pressing issues affecting Ballarat’s African community are the topics of four community forums designed to be the starting point to action.
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Ballarat African Association is working with Ballarat’s proactive policing unit to run the workshops, where agencies, experts and community members will work towards solutions to problems around employment, child protection, drugs, alcohol, gambling and communication barriers.
The association’s president Isaac Moses said the first forum on employment had been well received.
Victoria Police members participated in the session with a Ballarat constable set to work in a mentor capacity for young people in the African community interested in joining the force.
Another member spoke about how employment opportunities extended beyond police officers to other areas such as protective services officers.
The workshop also covered interview techniques, how to write a CV, tips on how to present oneself and what to consider when applying for a job.
“It was very constructive and interactive too,” Mr Moses said.
“People were so happy because even though there was no job on the table, there are so many simple things you can do to have that opportunity to get the job.”
He urged companies and organisations looking to employ staff to contact the Ballarat African Association as many members of the community were qualified and willing to work but just in need of an opportunity.
The second forum focusing on child protection and family wellbeing will be held on Saturday.
With the aim to provide education and reduce the number of children in out-of-home care, the sessions will look at the differences and clash in cultural values when it comes to raising children in the two countries.
Mr Moses said problems could also arise when children adapted to Australian culture more quickly than their parents creating tensions within the family.
“In that forum it will be pretty intense I would say,” he said.
“The way we raise our kids here is absolutely different to the way kids are raised in Africa, the mindset is different.
“The whole concept (of the forum) is how we can actually incorporate the policy or the lives that we live here into our culture... because that (physical) punitive approach in Africa is not allowed in Australia.”
The forum would also be a chance to educate the African community on family violence.
“It’s not only physical or sexual, it’s everything that happens in a family when an individual is being controlled in a way where there is no respect,” Mr Moses said.
Organisations involved in this forum include Ballarat Community Health, Women’s Health Grampians, WRISC Family Violence Support, Berry Street Child and Family Services and the Department of Health and Human Services.
WRISC Family Violence executive officer Libby Jewson said as a specialist agency the forum was an opportunity to make contact and forge relationships.
“It’s just about building trust and relationships with the broader community and that’s the first step with anything,” she said. “We certainly support these forums happening.”
The child protection forum takes place on Saturday, March 24, a workshop on gambling, drug and alcohol issues will follow on Saturday, April 21, while the final workshop on communication barriers and relationships with Victoria Police takes place on Saturday, May 5.
All forums run from 12-4.30pm at Ballarat Regional Multicultural Council’s Welcome Centre in Ballarat East.