We do a lot with a little. Help us to house and support asylum seekers and refugees in the Australian community.
URGENT REQUEST for donation of lawnmower – Please contact Libby 8842 2691
“We are just waiting. We are always waiting”
Will ending Melbourne’s lockdown trigger more of the refugee evictions initiated by the federal government? A crisis is hovering behind the scenes of Victoria’s much-anticipated release from pandemic lockdown. In suburbs around Melbourne, the longed-for announcement...
BASP Trivia Night Friday 9 October
The St Mary’s BASP Trivia Night is on again this year but it’s online of course! The Trivia Night has been a fun community occasion for many years. COVID restrictions mean we can’t gather in the usual way, so this year will be online for the first time. We can still...
‘I need freedom’: refugees approved for resettlement stranded on Nauru as processing stalls
Delays are causing further suffering for almost 200 refugees whose requests for transfer or resettlement were approved in 2019. A group of almost 200 refugees on Nauru who have had either medical transfers or resettlement requests approved since 2019 still remain on...
You can help
- provide hospitality and practical support for people seeking asylum
- actively network with like-minded individuals and groups who are working for justice for asylum seekers
- promote advocacy for the rights of people seeking asylum
- engage in education about asylum seekers’ issues
- donate or volunteer
About BASP
Staff
Brigid Arthur csb, Project Coordinator, is a Brigidine Sister with a long and passionate career as an educator. She has been described as ‘an octogenarian human rights advocate, protester and leader.’
(csb = Congregation of Sisters of Brigid)
Libby Saunders, Project Coordinator, is an experienced social worker who worked in disability and community care before joining BASP in 2014. Libby is mainly involved with housing and volunteers.
Volunteers, kindly support our everyday work with an extraordinary range of expertise and experience.
Aims
The Brigidine Asylum Seekers Project (BASP) is a Melbourne-based initiative of the Brigidine Sisters which aims to:
- Provide hospitality and practical support for people seeking asylum;
- Actively network with like-minded individuals and groups who are working for justice for asylum seekers;
- Promote advocacy for the rights of people seeking asylum;
- Engage in education about asylum seekers’ issues.
Volunteer
We have many volunteer opportunities e.g. volunteer for our Friendship through teaching English program, providing friendship and support to an asylum seeker family along with personalised assistance in everyday English. Help families settle in their Australian community by exploring local facilities and services together. Volunteers work in pairs, visiting an assigned family once a week for about an hour. Please contact us to help.
Be informed about asylum seekers in Australia
Authorised Travellers
Contrary to the images sometimes projected by government and the media, most asylum seekers arrive in Australia by air as authorised travellers.
Ordinary Human Beings
Asylum seekers are ordinary human beings with the same emotions and reactions that most of us would have in similar circumstances.
Persecution
They have been involved in persecution in their own countries that we find hard to imagine from the safety of this country.