NEWS DESK
Sisters work way to a new life Keith Platt keith@baysidenews.com.au
Oh so quiet: A female seal pup needs to be left alone to thrive. Picture: Gary Sissons
Seal deal for a good life BEACHGOERS are being asked not to approach or feed a seal pup underneath Frankston pier. The female seal has made Frankston beach its temporary home after coming ashore early last week. Wildlife volunteers are keeping a daily watch on the seal’s behaviour and wellbeing. Australian Wildlife Assistance Rescue and Education president Jackie Brown said people are welcome to take photographs from behind orange mesh barriers erected by Frankston Council. “We’re asking people not to approach and not to feed or stress her,” Ms Brown said. “If we’re going to give her that chance to get out there and survive and do well then she needs to not be fed or handled in any way, shape or form.”
Ms Brown said the seal pup is “doing well”, is active and has been feeding. Suspected fish hooks in the seal’s back turned out to be superficial barnacle injuries after an assessment by Melbourne Zoo officials. “Other than being a bit small and underweight and needing some good rest [she’s fine]. She’s got to learn to hunt … so she needs some time for peace and quiet and if we don’t humanise her or stress her out she’ll get stronger and will be able to get out there on her own.” AWARE Wildlife Rescue is always keen to hear from volunteers who have time to “seal watch”. See awarewildlife.org.au for details. Neil Walker
A NEW land, a new language and no friends or job. It is a situation that is hard to imagine and even harder to experience. However, that was the predicament confronting Luz Restrepo when she arrived in Australia five years ago after fleeing her native Colombia. “I was a political asylum seeker with no contacts, very little English language and no employment,” Ms Restrepo said last week. “I had left my successful communications business to protect my family under threat.” It was a fear that she was unable to shake. “When I arrived in Australia I was full of fear, I felt like I was invisible to society and I had lost my sense of identity.” Without realising it at first, Ms Restrepo was part of a community: “I started to meet women with the same story, some were depressed, socially isolated, lacking confidence and some were at risk of domestic violence. “One woman I met had been here 20 years and didn’t speak any English. I knew I needed to do something to turn this around.” Believing the best way to become part of the wider Australian society was to achieve some sort of financial independence, Ms Restrepo wrote a business plan – in Spanish first, out of necessity – and start to learn English. She contacted other refugee and migrant women “and we started teaching ourselves craft”.
Honoured citizen: Luz Restrepo shows her joy last October after receiving the St Michael’s medallion in recognition for her work in helping prevent violence, trauma and destructiveness or promotes growth, health and wellbeing.
Although their products were being sold to shops in Melbourne, she realised the women were being isolated by making them at home. “So I looked for some opportunities for us to sell our products together at markets. This way we were able to help each other by exchanging skills and improving our English.” Meanwhile, several women from the Mornington Peninsula had joined others in supporting Ms Restrepo’s efforts and in May 2013 SisterWorks was established. The organisation comprises 68 asylum seeker, refugee and migrant women, 44 volunteer supporters and three part time staff. Now living in Dromana, Ms Restrepo says SisterWorks encourages the vulnerable women “to tap into their underlying business and entrepreneurial abilities to find self-sufficiency”.
Under her business by 2020 SisterWorks will be “a leading social enterprise known for the power of women from many nations working together to achieve amazing things”. “We believe that together women are stronger and together women can create opportunities for personal and economic growth.” Asked if she has a personal ambition, Ms Restrepo is quick to reply “be the minister for women, or entrepreneurs”. As the organisation’s executive officer she is also its “main voice” and as part of fundraising to find a permanent for SisterWorks Ms Restrepo will “share the stories” of the organisation’s members at Mornington Community Theatre 10am-midday Wednesday 10 June. Entry is $25, bookings call 5989 2962 or email shome@bigpond.com
Volunteer helps make a difference Stephen Taylor steve@baysidenews.com.au A FRANKSTON primary school teacher says it is a privilege spending her holidays helping build schools in developing countries – something she has done regularly over the past decade. So committed is Ivey Panicker that she has created a not-for-profit organisation called Heart for Mission to further her work. The Christian mission fund helps and supports individuals and communities around the world to “overcome poverty and inspire hope for the future”. “Our vision is to connect and engage people across cultures to collaborate in building a just, caring, sustainable and
peaceful world,” said the teacher from Karingal Montessori School. “We are genuinely committed to helping people, inspiring change and making a difference.” Her journey includes assisting at Mother Teresa’s orphanage in India, which she described as “a very powerful experience”. She has also been involved with more school building projects in South Africa, Uganda and Nicaragua. Ms Panicker said it “was an honour to assist in building schools, children’s homes and other welfare facilities [in these countries] for all our lives to be enriched”. “Some of the conditions are terrible and many of the situations are heart-
breaking. The fact that these courageous young people are alive to tell their stories is a miracle in itself,” she said. “Yet I have witnessed that, in places of sadness, loneliness, traumas and suffering, there is great richness, wisdom, joy and gratitude.” Ms Panicker is an Oz Child volunteer and children’s mentor with Anglicare. She coordinates the Children’s Ministry program at St Francis Xavier church in Frankston. Her teaching experience in Australia includes special education in Newcastle and Sydney, at a one-teacher school house with 12 prep-grade 6 pupils at Warracknabeal, and at an immigrant and refugee school in Frankston. She regularly visits and assists with
literacy programs in Northern Territory Aboriginal communities. “Every child in every part of the world is precious and valued and has the potential to do amazing things,” she said. “There is a plan and purpose for each one of them. We are called on to not be distracted by material wealth but to remember the poor, the orphans and widows, to take care of them and love them unconditionally.” She described Heart for Mission as a lifelong calling and long-term vocation. “I am committed to pursuing it wholeheartedly. My hope is to welcome people to be a part of this journey by connecting with communities around the world.
“We will be supporting missionaries, celebrating cultures, embracing and sharing gifts, cultivating relationships, caring for children and experiencing God’s love. “We will be encouraging and praying for one another, helping people, inspiring change and making a difference.” She invited those interested in the project to visit heartformission.org The website says Heart for Mission Inc. is registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACNC) and is incorporated under the Associations Incorporation Reform Act (2012). Honour to assist: Karingal Montessori School teacher Ivey Panicker with little Joey.
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Level crossing works will continue on the Stony Point line until the end of June. The works include engineering, installation, testing and commissioning of new track infrastructure at level crossings between Frankston and Stony Point stations. During this time buses will continue to replace all trains, running as close as possible to the regular timetable.
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Stony Point line travel update
Expected completion: June 2015