Sada-e-Watan Sydney ™
sadaewatan@gmail.com
SAMAA CELEBRATES EID MILAN AT AUBURN TOWN HALL SYDNEY
South Asian Muslim Association of Australia (SAMAA) celebrated an Eid Milan on 19 Sept 2010 at Auburn Town Hall Sydney. A large number of elderly, their families, representatives from aged care agencies, SAMAA members, volunteers and friends attended the event with much enthusiasm and joy. It was another event organised by SAMAA for the aged of South Asian Muslim community who now look forward to SAMAA programmes as an opportunity to meet their contemporaries, learn from information sessions and enjoy cultural items which are designed to suit their taste. Ms Judy Jenkins from Care Connect, a non-profit organisation specialising in elderly assessment and case management, briefed the audience of their programmes. The Blacktown office has three federally funded programmes, which support frail older people, five state funded programs and one program funded by NSW health. They cover the areas of Cumberland Prospect and Nepean Planning regions - Auburn, Parramatta, Holroyd, Blacktown, Baulkham Hills, Penrith Hawkesbury, & Blue Mountains LGA’s. Auburn councillor Melikeh Michaels talked about her efforts in improving aged care programs in ethnic communities and described the importance of elderly care in Islamic teachings.
SAMAA official Mr Zahid Jamil told the audience that SAMAA is now well known amongst government departments and aged care agencies at both state and federal levels. Under the premises of NSW Transcultural Aged Care Service (TACS), SAMAA had signed a memorandum of understanding with Curie Nursing home to provide religiously and culturally appropriate care to South Asian Muslims. He detailed various SAMAA programs which encompass the whole package of needs of the South Asian Muslim aged including volunteer services, placement of frail elderly in nursing home, coordination with home care agencies, all incorporating culturally and religiously appropriate care apart from arranging gatherings and information sessions. SAMAA is now running email and telephone campaigns to reach out to all South Asian communities to register their elderly as well as volunteers. Urdu poetry, jokes and skits thrilled the crowd who also enjoyed delecious subcontinental food and Eid sweets.
People willing to donate to SAMAA can deposit their contributions in SAMAA's following accounts or visit the SAMAA website for more details. www.samaa.org.au
Benevolent Services Account: BSB: 012 081 Account Number: 901179677
Elderly Home Account: BSB: 012 081 Account Number: 901179853
