Social cohesion model paving way for new migrants
The Salvation Army’s Kwetu Camp gives newly arrived refugees a welcoming start in Australia. (Photo courtesy of Auburn Salvation Army)
A new social cohesion program at a Salvation Army centre in Sydney’s west is making a real difference in eliminating key barriers that most migrants encounter when arriving in Australia.
Around two years ago, Auburn Salvation Army developed a “Social Cohesion Program” to create a process that helped new migrants integrate into Australian society.
Auburn Corps Officer and the Army’s Australia Eastern Territorial Multicultural Ministries Coordinator, Captain Nesan Kistan, says the Cronulla riots in 2005 had put the spotlight on multicultural Australia and something needed to be done.
“We recognised that if we didn’t resolve this incredible social challenge, what lay ahead of us was increased antisocial behaviour and increased problems with people becoming integrated parts of Australian society,” he says.
Developed in consultation with members of The Salvation Army’s advisory board, the social cohesion model aims to integrate new arrivals into Australian society through friendship, education and skills training. The ultimate goal is for the participant to gain employment.
“We recognised that the key thing for most migrants was finding employment,” says Captain Kistan. “Employment became the barometer for us to measure whether we were being successful or not.”
Participants attend free English language classes, and are invited to attend Auburn Corps’ annual Kwetu Camp at The Salvation Army’s Collaroy Centre where they make friends and learn about Australian society. They are also able to gain their driver’s licence through Auburn’s multicultural driving school, do budgeting courses and gain retail training at supportive local businesses.
Another initiative of the model is the setting up of a multicultural school at the Army’s Booth College earlier this year.
However, despite its sound theoretical basis, the program’s implementation has been slow and at times frustrating, according to Captain Kistan.
“We’ve seen a few people get jobs but … we really want to put a significant mark on the Australian community,” says Captain Kistan.
“We realise that we are really only going to do triage. We’re just band-aiding the situation until we can come up with a more significant national approach.”
In early 2013, the social cohesion model will be expanded to more corps and centres within the Australia Eastern Territory, and also the Australia Southern Territory. Captain Kistan says it’s the beginning of a journey he hopes will change the very essence of Australia.
“Our heart’s desire is to see a cohesive nation under God working together to produce the best Australia can produce,” he says.
“Because every different nationality brings its own unique skill set to the table and migration and multiculturalism has a richness that we are yet to fully understand and appreciate. But when we allow the right atmosphere to prevail who knows how great the possibilities will be.”
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