Our Guestbook
"I'm glad to know OT help for refugees and asylum seekers. I think you help many people and actually practice the Occupational Justice concept.It needed because more and more people suffer from natural disaster, uncertain political situation and so on. I hope I can do something for refugees and asylum seekers with you." Natsuko Ito, OT, Japan 0815004h@spu.ac.jp (24.12.11)
"Great Work! I am interested in learning more. I have done some work helping refugees assimilate to life in the U.S. Glad there is an OT group that is working on a global level!" Natalie Harr, USA redjeannie21@gmail.com (18.08.11)
"It was really facinating to read for an OT student looking at doing a community development project with refugees!" Chloe M, Australia mcccm014@mymail.unisa.edu.au (11.05.11)
"As someone in the system of asylum, OT is very important to most of the asylum seekers due to what they have gone through in,their lives. This is a very good idea, hope so many will benefit from the project. Good luck Ellen and colleagues." Miriam Birungi Omoro, Europe, Expert by refugee experience mbomoro@gmail.com (15.2.11)
"You guys are doing a wonderful thing, I would want to be part of your work!" Kushinga Maneswa, Africa, OT student. kushinga.maneswa@gmail.com (11.2.11)
"So glad Tamar referred you to me! Lovely program you have...I hope to share this information on the new Child Development Club website: www.childdevelopmentclub.org and hope some people contact you about your great work!" Laura Efinger, Egypt, OT. laura.childdevelopmentclub@gmail.com (11.2.11)
Our Members
Sarah Perkes I would like to work with Indigenous Australians, refugees, or possibly overseas in a developing country. I would also love to get involved in research at some stage. Naturally OOFRAS appealed to me. I first heard about OOFRAS when I attended the OT mental health conference earlier this year and thought the concept was brilliant. I think OTs are well placed to support refugees and asylum seekers in establishing their lives here in Australia. As a profession, we have a unique platform to advocate for the rights of refugees and asylum seekers including speedy processing in a community based setting. OOFRAS is a great concept and a much needed initiative, well done :) I hope to get more involved the future. sarah_perkes@yahoo.com.au
Caryn Brandel is a first year OT student at Towson University. She says, "I love that occupational therapy is a medical profession based on helping people live meaningful lives rather than just fixing injured limbs. My interest in working with refugees began when I took a genocide and holocaust course in high school, which introduced me to the plight of refugees leaving a hostile homeland to start over in a strange new country. I would love to help to create a balance between preserving refugees' cultures while incorporating them into the culture of their new country. I hope to work alongside the International Rescue Committee in Baltimore to address the occupational needs of local refugees." cbrand6@students.towson.edu
Bronwyn Tanner is keen to improve the quality of OT practice with refugees as a lecturer at James Cook University, Qld AUSTRALIA. She has also used her fieldwork co-ordinator role to link placements into a settlement service so more refugees can access OT- watch this space! Thank you Bronwyn for sharing senario based learning info to guide our case studies! (anyone keen to be a part of this type of project - talk to us!) Bronwyn.Tanner@jcu.edu.au
Susan Cloete has a long standing interest with refugee practice and often travels to Zimbabwe. She participated in a refugee settlement project whilst at University of Queensland and graduated to work in mental health. Today she has an active role with local OOFRAS initiatives like the workshop with Kerry Thomas and is the first Vice Africa LINK representing OOFRAS Inc. suziecloete@hotmail.com
Beau Adriel has discovered a number of talents whilst joining OOFRAS Inc ventures such as building relationships with business donors, auctioning off prizes, and even making bulk toffee apples for sale. He's also been a founding member of AusCongo Network, a community development project and process in Brisbane. Aside from ongoing nerd-support for Clarissa, he pops into Skype calls to say "hi" because he misses the OOFRAS Inc gals otherwise! trojanknight@iinet.net.au
Linda Rylands is an occupational therapist with over 5 years experience in mental health and 4 years experience exploring the OT role in facilitating occupational transitions for migrants and refugees. After travelling extensively and having first hand experience of the ‘fish out of water’ experience of being an ‘outsider’ in a new country, Linda returned home in 2006 curious about the occupational experience of migrants and refugees settling in Australia.
Linda joined the OOFRAS dialogue, which progressed to gaining a role working at a lead settlement service for refugees in Brisbane. As well as effectively implementing the OT perspective in a case management role, she also supervised several occupational therapy student projects and committed to build the profile of OT role within this specialty area. Linda has been humbled by the stories and journeys that she has been privileged to share with individuals and families settling in Australia. She has served as OOFRAS secretary and is currently passionate to explore the fusion of anthropology and OT frameworks in study and practice. linda@oofras.com
Gemma Mccallum has recently attended the UK Refugee Council conference "Working Together to Protect Refugees" and has a knack for discovering wonderful info to share with other UK OTs on the UK page or via Skype connections. Gemma recently sent in an encouraging quote "The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity; the optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty' (Winston Churchill) and remarked this vein ran through the conference and all the networking. She's about to graduate and potentially do volunteer work in Fiji and meet OOFRAS Inc members in Australia!i7863160@bournemouth.ac.uk
Nadine Kwebetchou discovered OOFRAS Inc while conducting a needs assessment during an internship at a local International Rescue Committee officein USA, exploring the role of occupational therapy (OT) in refugee resettlement. With the helpful resources afforded from the OOFRAS Inc website, she continues to stay intrigued with international OT opportunities and networking opportunities with OTs who think outside of the box. nadine.kwebetchou@gmail.com
Belinda Locklier has recently graduated from occupational therapy but developed a keen interest in working with occupationally deprived populations during her studies. Travels through Africa and South East Asia consolidated this interest and when she discovered OOFRAS' existence, quickly joined the team. Belinda has also completed a degree in Human Movement Science and has spent the last 15 years working in the health and fitness industry. Currently she works in mental health with homeless populations and is keen to complete further study in international development and research into the use of exercise and sport as occupational interventions post natural disaster. "The resources provided by OOFRAS assist me in maintaining focused on my long term goals and provide motivation and inspiration to achieve these." b_locklier@hotmail.com
Aakifah Suleman graduated from University of Queensland in 2009. Following an innovative and successful student project which explored the OT role teaching public transport skills to newly arrived refugee families, Aakifah's new graduate role was to coordinate a brand new Settlement Life Skills program in a Brisbane refugee settlement service. Aakifah has been responsible for designing and establishing the program by incorporating both the unique occupational perspective of settlement life skills and drawing on the extensive expertise in ‘refugee settlement’ of her culturally and professionally diverse team. In 2010 she joined the board of directors of Occupational Opportunities for Refugees and Asylum Seekers Inc. (OOFRAS Inc.) and is actively working to uphold the occupational rights of individuals and families along the refugee journey. a.suleman01@gmail.com
Ellen Fruijtier I have always been interested in the unique situation of asylum seekers. When I started to study law, I realized there where lots of restrictions in policies that had impact on the living conditions of asylum seekers. Then, when I studyied occupational therapy in Amsterdam, I became more able to relate the effect of circumstances created by law (among others) on people's daily occupations. This lead to several projects with asylum seekers and undocumented migrants. I have realized during my study, these projects gave me a certain energy and motivated me the most as an OT. Also, I have found it inspiring to learn more about occupational justice, as it not only grounded that ‘feeling’ with theory, but it also provided instruments and strategies to give it some power and turn it into something productive. I also have loved to find out how shared interests can evolve into great friendships. Ellen stepped up to the board till 2011 AGM, thank you! ellenfruijtier@hotmail.com
Naomi Jemmett I'm based in the UK and have worked with refugees for 7 years in both volunteer and paid roles. Love to explore more OT roles, and have done a lot of befriending, mentoring, teaching English, teaching citizenship. naomi.jemmett@ntlworld.com
Lluisa Murray While I believe this country already holds an unsustainable population, I'm unhappy with the government's handling of people seeking asylum in Australia. OOFRAS Inc offers the opportunity to link up with communities that would otherwise be inaccessible to most residents of Australia. I'd like to offer my time, meet new people and help to build a stronger Australian community. Lluisa stepped up the the board till the 2011 AGM to represent students & early career OTs. On top of this she raised awareness, funds, and a bit of activist confidence running a university cake stall! lluisa.murray@gmail.com
Your name here? Full membership here! (members do remember to email us introducing yourself and interests!)
Our Directors
Clarissa Adriel (President) wants to see our profession engage people where they are at, which means meeting them wherever their occupational needs are, to offer occupational opportunities that make sense.
"The first refugee stories I encountered were told by a couple of homeless Sri Lankan men I met whilst travelling to a practice placement in India. One had been a welder and the other a chemistry teacher. They had both sold their wives jewellery to get out, hoping to find work in India to bring their family out of the the camp too. I had no concept of "refugee issues" and yet it didn't matter. They were not talking about being refugees. Or experiencing occupational injustice. That just "was". They were talking about their lives. And their distress as fathers, husbands, employees, non-citizens. They are my reminder to start with the basics. People. Stories. Knowing less. Listening more. Responding to what you already do know."
Nicole Preston (Secretary) has been working as an OT for the past 8 years in Australia, Asia and the UK in a variety of fields including aged care, paediatrics and disability. It was whilst spending a year living and working in Bangladesh, that I learnt first hand the challenges associated with adapting to new and different cultures. This experience also gave me a broader perspective of ‘environment’ and showed me the role that a society has in influencing our ability to participate in activities, occupations, and engage in communities. Currently I am completing my Masters in Human Rights. In the future I hope to combine my OT and Human Rights knowledge to support people to actively engage in their communities. I am looking forward to taking an active role within OOFRAS as Secretary over the next few months. :) nicole_preston80@hotmail.com
Sally Datson (Treasurer) has been working as an OT in mental health for 6 years. I became interested in occupational issues for refugees after doing a project in my final year of university. This involved liaising with refugees from various communities in Brisbane and assessing their occupational needs and how the OT role could be utilised in their settlement in a new country. Since this time, I have been a member of OOFRAS and involved in various projects also aimed at building the capacity of our profession to respond to the occupational needs of refugees. I have also had the opportunity to be involved in a community development project with the Congolese community in Brisbane to reduce poverty in their community by looking at alternatives to remittance. I will have fun taking on the role of treasurer this year! sally@oofras.com
Yolande Hall (Student/ Early Career Director) I have been studying OT for 2 years at the University of Queensland, and particularly took interest in a lot of work being done by OTs in the refugee and asylum seeker field. I remember a research article that described mental health of immigrants in Australia with those from collective cultures describing depression as not being connected to the community rather than an internal experience. This began for me the thought of enhancing strengths. Focusing on this strengths based approach with refugees helps as we welcome them into our communities, by appreciating and using the unique skills they bring to Australia's diverse community. I do think occupation is vital for everyone and finding the keys to help people give back and participate in their community is what I am passionate about. I am really excited to be involved in OOFRAS and occupational opportunities for all. yolande.halls@uqconnect.edu.au
Philomena van Rijswijk (Director) Hi! I've been an OT for 34 years, but five children, many moves, and various other contingencies have provided me with a strange work history. I've always lived in regional Australia, until the past few years, and I must say, the nice man who puts water in the taps, fixes the roads and takes the garbage away is very much appreciated. As well as my checkered career as an OT, horticultural therapist, adult literacy tutor, migrant English tutor, Aboriginal student tutor, manager in an aged care facility, and various other health/education "hats", I am also an author, and have had my work published and translated in Australia, Ireland and India (actually, it didn't need translation in Ireland or Australia !!!!!). I also was co-editor of an Indonesian/Australian literary magazine for a while, and was writer-in-residence at Risdon Maximum Security Prison for 9 months.
I am passionate about refugees and asylum seekers getting the "fair go" that many Australians, apparently, delude themselves about. In my role as a manager in the aged care facility, I work with the Migrant Resource Centre's PICAC Officer (Partners in Culturally Appropriate Care) and I'm part of their CCP steering committee (Community Partners Programme). I recently attended a training day at UTAS about linking refugee students with opportunities to volunteer in community services, and I will be attending an open day to meet potential refugee students in the next few weeks. I have just finished a Graduate Diploma in Clinical Rehabilitation with Flinders Uni. I studied Spanish for three years, and tried learning Arabic in my car, so I can ask you for your phone number, if you are Arabic... :) romanmartyr@yahoo.com
Karina Pont (Director) All of us have our own story about how we got to where we are. For me, my journey to becoming actively involved with OOFRAS and other social justice pursuits started in early high school with World Vision’s 40 Hour Famine. Jumping at the opportunity to help the world’s poorest, I organised this event at my high school. This gave me the opportunity to attend the World Vision Youth Leadership Convention a couple of times, which opened my eyes to the amazing stories people have, and the harsh realities of this world.
I decided to become an OT because of their holistic view of the person, and I knew that OTs could help people like those I heard about through World Vision and other charities. I have spent a month in India working with people with leprosy just after the Boxing Day Tsunami. This further opened my eyes and cemented by desire to help those around me in whatever way I can. If I could help empower and enlarge the capacity of others to do the things they need and want to do, regardless of their race, creed, colour or previous life experiences, then I could help make this place a little better than how I found it.
Australia, the lucky country, is a place where people, such as my father when he was young, move to seek a better life. Others, such as refugees and asylum seekers have no choice but to leave all that they know to seek refuge and safety in a new land. I became involved OOFRAS after I to Brisbane to complete a PhD in Occupational Therapy. My supervisor recommended visiting the OOFRAS website and getting involved. I love how OOFRAS puts flesh on so many of the values that are inherent in who I am, and seeks to promote OT’s holistic perspective on life and occupation to include those who now call Australia “home”. karina.pont@scu.edu.au
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