How the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre is turning lives around

Life can be a struggle for the thousands of refugees who land in Australia with no work rights, income support or Medicare access. But one charity is turning lives around, helping some of the community’s most vulnerable people.

Abdul Razzaq volunteers at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, to give back to an organisation that has helped him and so many others. Picture: Ellen Smith

Abdul Razzaq has struggled a lot but he sees himself as a victor, not a victim.

Fleeing Pakistan for a new life in Australia he found himself with no work rights, no income support and no Medicare.

Life was a constant battle for Mr Razzaq and his wife, who had a tumour and spinal infection.

With nowhere to go and hope hard to muster the pair turned to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) and were only able to eat thanks to the charity’s food bank.

“If this service did not exist, I’m telling you, there would be more risks for mental health, more crime and more negativity,” he said.

YOU CAN DONATE TO THE FEED VICTORIA APPEAL HERE

“If I didn’t have a place to come like this, who knows, maybe I would finish my life?”

The support gave him a new outlook on life and now the Dandenong man travels to ASRC in Footscray every Wednesday to volunteer at the food bank.

“I can’t pay back how much they have given us with money but I can give them my time,” he said.

Determined to also help others Mr Razzaq founded All Nations Social Cricket, a program to not only engage asylum seekers but anyone dealing with mental illness.

“The secret to happiness is helping people,” he said.

“There are so many refugees around the world, with time we can change the world — we don’t want to be the victims.”

“I like to see myself as a victor, not a victim.”

MORE: GET BEHIND THE FEED VICTORIA APPEAL IN 2019

CHARITY ‘LIFELINE’ FOR FAMILY VIOLENCE SURVIVOR SINGLE MUM

HOW OUR COMMUNITY CAMPAIGN BECAME A NATIONAL CHARITY

ASRC community food programs manager Chantelle Bazerghi said the centre’s food bank helped about 800 people, including children, each week.

Asylum Seeker Resource Centre food bank volunteers Brian Derum, Uyen Nguyen and Dave Hu. Picture: Ellen Smith

“The large majority of people accessing our food bank have no income at all, from any source, so they are unable to do shopping elsewhere,” she said.

The centre received a 2018 Feed Melbourne Appeal (now the Feed Victoria Appeal) grant of almost $15,000 for food, cool room shelving and storage costs.

“The Feed Melbourne grant makes an enormous difference to our food bank, each year it allows us to purchase $10,000 more produce than we could have otherwise, this allows us to provide foods that we couldn’t have afforded,” Ms Bazerghi said.

The Feed Victoria Appeal is in collaboration with Leader Community News and FareShare, and powered by Newman’s Own Foundation.

The appeal provides grants of up to $50,000 to help grassroots charities boost their capacity to store, cook and distribute food for struggling families, individuals, pensioners and students.

Since 2019 the appeal has given grants to more than 280 Victorian charities.

Every dollar donated to the appeal goes to food charities and just 50c can provide a meal for someone in need.

You can help charities like ASRC by donating to our Feed Victoria Appeal