News & reports
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REFUGEE LUNCH GROUP – 2017 REPORT
The VDSA lunch group programme is now five years old, and in 2017 the activity has continued in the format of a flexible number of people working in teams of three. We prepare and serve a monthly, generous hot lunch for refugees and asylum seekers who are clients of the Asylum Seekers’ Centre. Meals are…
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Aboriginal Art & Outreach Exhibition
VDSA is proud to support a showcase of artworks by indigenous youth and families as part of a Marrickville Youth Resource Centre community project, exhibited at StirrUp Gallery
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2017 FILEF and VDDSA meeting in support of refugees seeking asylum in Australia
On Friday 26 May, 2017, a FILEF (Italian Federation of Migrant Workers and their families) meeting was held at the Italian Forum Cultural Centre in Leichardt, Sydney to discuss how refugees seeking asylum in Australia could be supported. NGOs including Amnesty International, Asylum Seeker Centre, Refugee Action Coalition, Valerio Daniel De Simoni Association, People Just Like…
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ASYLUM SEEKER/REFUGEE GROUP – 2016 REPORT
This 5th year of activity has seen a drop-off in the number of detainees visited, as some were finally released, after 5 or even 6 years in detention. Contact has continued with some of these, especially with our Sri Lankan friends. Some financial assistance has been given to those now in the community to alleviate…
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REFUGEE LUNCH GROUP – 2016 REPORT
The VDSA Lunch Project for the ASC has been in place since 2012. Our group consists of a flexible number of people, working in teams of three each. They prepare a monthly hot and tasty lunch for the clients of the ASC. Our meals are cooked according to hygiene and cultural requirements. Lunch is served…
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Diego Bonetto visits our Charity Garden in Bronte
On Tuesday 15, November Diego Bonetto took our Volunteers and Friends of the VDS Association on a Wild Food Workshop tour of the Bronte gully. Diego is an Italian artist, naturalist and cultural worker. He regularly presents at conferences and symposiums on the ecological and cultural value of botanical species. On this particular Tuesday…
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REFUGEE LUNCH GROUP – 2015 REPORT
In 2015 members of The Valerio Daniel De Simoni Association continued to provide monthly lunches to asylum seekers who are clients of the Asylum Seekers’ Resource Centre in Newtown. This project has been running since 2012. Approximately twenty people working in teams of three cook, prepare and serve hot and tasty lunches for the clients…
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Growing Food for the Disadvantaged – 2015 Report
2015 Annual Report  This year Raised wooden boxes were constructed around our vegetable beds. This project was funded by donations and built by a member of the Association. A watering system was installed. A friend of the Association who is a member of Rotary e-club applied to Rotary for a donation of $600.00 to enable…
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ASYLUM SEEKER/REFUGEE GROUP – 2015 REPORT
Our visits to the Villawood Immigration Detention Facility (as it is now called) continue as in past years. There have been disconcerting moments when some of those we visited were moved overnight to other parts of the country (such as Yongah Hill, Perth, from Blaxland to Christmas Island and from Blaxland, to a correctional centre…