Homework Club celebrates its annual Iftar event - Jesuit Social Services

Ramadan is an important time of year for Jesuit Social Services’ Homework Club, with most participant families of Muslim faith. Once again, Ramadan was celebrated with the annual Iftar event, providing an opportunity for families and staff to enjoy dinner and activities together.

Homework Club supports around 40 children, largely from new migrant background, through weekly sessions with our dedicated volunteers who provide learning and social support.

Before dinner, the children were delighted by toys, games, craft activities and the ever-popular face painting stand, while parents chatted over their own activity, decoupaging journals with pressed flowers, and waited for sunset.

The call to prayer brought everyone to the dining tables, for the traditional breaking of fast with dates and water, followed by a delicious meal provided by Asylum Seeker Resource Centre caterers. The meal was accompanied by delicious traditional Ethiopian coffee and tea, provided by Homework club parent Mulu.

“We love celebrating this really important cultural event where we get to all come together and spend some time with each other,” said program co-ordinator Louisa Wilson.

“We just get to chat, be together and break bread together. It’s really nice to have that time where we can just be relaxed and have another opportunity to learn about each other.”

Our Mental Health and Wellbeing Connect Centre’s recent ‘Family Fun Day’ reminds us that joy can be a ‘radical act’

The smell of sizzling sausages and fried onions drifted through the streets of Sunshine last Saturday, drawing people toward the outdoor space of our Western Metro Mental Health and Wellbeing Connect Centre. Around 50 carers and family members from across the community gathered to partake in a ‘Family Fun Day’ - organised in collaboration with Satellite Foundation and Western Health - which included a range of arts and crafts activities, face…

Supporting young people through lived experience: Ayesha’s mentoring story

“I’ve always been the person who needed support. Now I get to be that support for someone else.” For volunteer mentor Ayesha Turner, supporting young people through our Community Connections Mentoring program is not just a job, it’s deeply personal. Community Connections Mentoring connects young people who are living in, or who have lived in, out-of-home care with trained volunteer mentors…

“Timing is everything”: Eco-Justice Hub volunteers support those affected by Victorian bushfires

Much was lost when the Longwood bushfires ran through homes and farms in January, but recent work from visiting volunteers has helped one Upton local to reinstate his burnt-out garden.

Homework Club celebrates another successful year

Homework Club volunteers, participant families and Jesuit Social Services staff gathered to celebrate another successful year together over a barbecue and a bounce on the trampolines.

Community power on full display at the Transport Assembly in Bidwill

Earlier this month, more than 150 Western Sydney residents, community leaders and partner organisations packed out Bidwill Uniting Church for the long-awaited Transport Assembly - a moment that marked the culmination of several years of deep listening, relationship-building and collective organising across the 2770 postcode of Mount Druitt.

A simple sign, a stronger welcome: Supporting new refugee communities in Emerton NSW

As the demographics of Western Sydney’s Emerton community continue to shift, Jesuit Social Services’ Ignite Food Store is seeing more newly arrived refugee families turning to the store for affordable, locally accessible food. For staff and volunteers, this change has brought new opportunities to deepen relationships and ensure everyone who walk through the door feel…

Willmot Community Hub is creating safe spaces for young women to learn, connect and thrive

Twelve-year-old Maya first heard about the Jesuit Social Services’ led Willmot Community Hub through her mother. Overhearing phone conversations and seeing her mum at community events sparked a curiosity, and soon after, Maya began attending too.