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Refugees need Sanctuary

Isolated. Abandoned. Alone.

Neville Hota from Eritrea whose family has been sponsored by Sanctuary
Nev Hota from Eritrea whose family has been sponsored by Sanctuary.

Sanctuary Refugee Foundation is a bridge of hope for refugees from around the world. We offer sponsorship and emergency financial assistance, ongoing advice and compassion to people struggling to find a future for themselves and their families.

Safe. Supported. Cared for.

Help us to help them find sanctuary. We are:

  • A community-based organisation that recieves no Government funding and believes in the power of local communities and groups to affect change in the world.
  • Sponsors applicants for 202 Visas who are stuck in
    refugee camps and who do not have anyone to sponsor them.
  • Provides airfare loans for 202 Visa holding refugees, who would otherwise have no interest-free airfare loan or hope of living a decent life.
  • Co-ordinates refugee settlement through its network of groups across Australia.
  • Trains and consults on issues relevant to refugees and humanitarian entrants. 
  • Provides refugee services such as advice and support for those refugees wanting to sponsor their relatives.
  • Gives guidance to refugees regarding settlement issues such as housing, banking and trauma services.
  • Provides liason and advocacy (on behalf of refugees and support groups).
  • Sets up new community groups and provides ongoing support.
  • Community development and Education activities.
Yoko Ono has approved a T-shirt to raise money for refugees

Yoko Ono has approved a
T-shirt to assist needy refugees!

A unique T-shirt design has been made using religious symbols to spell 'PEACE' as part of John Lennon's famous song lyrics 'Give Peace a Chance'.

Every T-shirt bought will directly go towards assisting refugees in need to escape there desperate situations.

Please click here to download our order form >>>


Help refugees from the Congo.


Photo: A girl displaced by fighting tries to sell potatoes in the rain at a market in a refugee camp at Kibati in eastern Congo, November 10, 2008. REUTERS/ Finbarr O'Reilly (DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO)

The suffering in the Congo has been ongoing. Fighting between rebels and government forces has caused tens of thousands to flee their homes. The conflict and humanitarian crisis kills 45,000 people in the Congo every month, according to a recent report from the International Rescue Committee. Fighting has left thousands of innocent people displaced, forced into squalid refugee camps often containing as many as a million people.

In 2008, Sanctuary sponsored many Congolese families. Elizabeths family
were accepted by Australia on an unfunded 202 Humanitarian visa. Sanctuary provided them with an interest-free $10,000 travel loan.  When they arrived it was a momentous day…Elizabeth, a widow with 5 children, thin and tired, wept tears of joy. Her only wish had come true…her children would have a safe and happy future.

Bellingen children welcome Elizabeths
Bellingen children welcome Elizabeths children to their new home!

Once settled, they will gradually repay their interest-free airfare loan back (over 3 years). This money is then 'recycled' to assist the next needy refugee family. Families are helped to settle with the kind welcome and ongoing support of Sanctuary groups located across Australia.

Sanctuary Refugee Foundation provides a bridge of hope for desperate refugees. There are many suffering refugees from the Congo, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Iraq and Burma who are desperate for your assistance. They deserve the chance at a decent life. Each child rescued
from these terrible conditions makes all the difference in the world.

Sanctuary receives no Government funding and is a multi-award winning charity, run with the utmost integrity, carefully giving direct assistance to refugees in real need. Your donation will change a life forever, and then be ‘re-cycled’ to help another, and so on……PLEASE HELP!

HOW YOUR DONATION WILL HELP THOSE IN NEED

Sanctuary assists many unfunded refugee families who face losing their Australian Humanitarian 202 visas, without our help to get here. Your donation, no matter how small, will help to provide a family with a chance of a new life by providing them with an interest-free airfare loan and the support of our Sanctuary settlement groups across Australia.

$1500 can save a life!

Our organisation has been saving refugees lives for over 20 years. We believe in the power of local communities to create change in the world. Our volunteer settlement groups give community the opportunity to become involved with helping refugees. Sanctuary receives no Government funding and we rely solely on the goodwill of the community to continue this vital work.

BECOME A MONTHLY GIVING SANCTUARY PARTNER!

We would like to kindly ask you to consider giving a monthly donation of as little as $10 per month (or more?) to help us to provide refugees with sponsorship, airfare loans and settlement services. The benefits include helping to budget for the many requests for help we receive, cutting costs (such as stationary and postage) and saving time, as there is no need to write and mail cheques. If you would prefer to do a direct bank debit please phone us on (02) 6652 2127. We also have an online donations facility available through our website by clicking here.

Click here for a PDF version of this appeal.

We are a registered non-profit charity working with integrity to resettle refugees regardless of race, religion or creed. For more information on what Sanctuary does please go to the About us page.

Listen to an SBS interview with Sanctuary founding members and some of the people they have helped.

If you can see this text you need the flash music player.

COMMUNITY IDOL 2006
Awarded for excellence in
best-practice management
and leadership among Australian non-profit organisations!

News - Spring 2009

Sanctuary welcomes families to Australia.

Sanctuary has been in the process of setting up groups in Bega, Ulladulla, Stanthorpe (Qld) and Nowra.

So far this year we have settled through the Sanctuary network:

A new Sanctuary family arrived

An Ethiopian family (Ulladulla)
An Ethiopian family (Ulladulla)
3 Single Congolese (Inverell)
An Ethiopian couple (Armidale)
An Ethiopian Couple (Armidale)
A Congolese family (Dorrigo)
3 Single Congolese (Albury)
A Somali family (Melbourne)
A Congolese family (Rockhampton)

Sanctuary National Conference 2009

Sanctuary will have its annual Sanctuary Gathering of Sanctuary group delegates from across the nation on Oct. 24-25 weekend, at Nautilus Resort in Coffs Harbour. Special guests include Ms. Arja Keski-Nummi, First Assistant Secretary, Refugee, Humanitarian and International Division, Department of Immigration and Citizenship. It will be a very positive weekend, sharing insights, ideas and wisdom on behalf of needy refugees in many war-torn parts of the world.

Would you like to be a penfriend to a refugee overseas? Please send an
e-mail to:
Contact Sanctuary

Awards


Kerry O'Brien with Mark Hallam, Sanctuary Secretary

" I have deep respect for your work and its impact."

- Kerry O'Brien