First community-sponsored refugees settle in Australia

The newly-arrived Venezuelan family will be supported by a group of Jewish volunteers through Stand Up’s refugee initiative, Project Eden.

The first refugee family to be sponsored by the Australian Jewish community through Project Eden has arrived in Melbourne, following nine months of planning and preparation.

The community initiative, run by social justice organisation Stand Up through a federal government program, supports new arrivals who have been identified by the United Nations as needing urgent resettlement.

The refugee family – who fled Venezuela and have little English – expressed their gratitude for their sponsors in a message delivered via Google Translate. They waited for more than four years before their refugee status was approved by the UNHCR.

“Sometimes it’s not the money, but it’s the human warmth that we have received from you, which has been the most important thing, since we haven’t experienced that for a long time,” the message said.

Ric Benjamin, one of the volunteers involved in the family’s sponsorship, told The Jewish Independent that his experience of supporting refugees has been “profound”.

“For many people, and I'm in this category, most of what we do as volunteers or to engage in charity is give money. It’s the easiest, it's time efficient and it's effective, because money is needed.