Meet Sylvia Lee Executive Director of Good Neighbours Australia
In your own words, who is Good Neighbours Australia? What led to the creation of the business?
Good Neighbours Australia is an international humanitarian organisation helping children and communities around the world. We’ve been operating in Australia since 2018 and are registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), the national regulator of charities.
We work with major governments, corporates, community leaders and children such as Multicultural NSW, as well as communities in Vietnam, Cambodia and Mozambique.
What is Good Neighbours Australia’s mission?
Good Neighbours Australia’s mission is to foster inclusive community development and child protection. We respect the human rights of those suffering from poverty, disasters, and oppression, and help them to achieve self-reliance by enabling them to rebuild their hope. Good Neighbours Australia remains dedicated to our mission throughout the 45 countries we are involved in worldwide.
We act based on our core values. This means that we:
- Will work anywhere, irrespective of race, religion, or gender
- Prioritise the rights of children
- Promote self-sustainability of individuals, families, and communities
- Organise local volunteers to join in the development of their communities
- Encourage people to partner and participate with us as donors
- Work in cooperation with the communities we serve
- Maintain professional accountability by being transparent in our reports
Currently, what cause is of top priority for Good Neighbours Australia? How do you prioritise different groups, needs and causes to support?
On 24th February, Russian troops entered Ukraine and major attacks have been reported across the country. As a result, and influx of refugees have crossed over into neighbouring countries with no guarantee of safety, food or shelter.
Currently, our Good Neighbours team are on the ground in Romania and have been assessing the gaps in emergency support for Ukrainian refugees.
Our emergency response will focus on the following:
Transportation
Most of the people who cross the border are women and children, who are vulnerable targets of human trafficking. As current transport does not have the capacity to accommodate everyone, people are forced to find their own way in getting to a safe destination.
With your support Good Neighbours has begun and will continue to provide transport from border points so people can move freely and safely.
Collaboration
Many cities near the border don’t have the capacity to host and support the number of refugees coming in. The local government of Galati, Romania is operating a temporal evacuation centre. Good Neighbours will support the local government to operate the shelter smoothly.
Child-Friendly Spaces
We will run a Psychosocial Support Program (PSS) to support recovering mental health for children who are affected by war.
Food
We are partnering with the Isaccea warehouse in Romania, where the border point is, to provide non-perishable food items for internally displaced persons in Ukraine.
Please stand with Ukraine and help us support them! https://gnau.kindful.com/?campaign=1183238
What are some challenging aspects of being a charity organisation?
Charity organisation can’t stand alone without any partners who support their values.
Good Neighbours is a large organisation with operations in over 40 countries worldwide, whereas Good Neighbours Australia still needs many partners as we have only been operating for4 years in Australia. If you don’t have a charitable partner yet, or if you are looking for an organisation that can create a tailored and enduring partnership for you, please contact us.
If anyone would like to support the work Good Neighbours Australia is doing, or get involved, how can they do that?
- Register your interest: Register Good Neighbours Australia as your charity of choice to receive monetary and in-kind gift donations
- Volunteer your skills: Make use of your people’s passions and unique skillsets by setting aside time each year to support Good Neighbours Australia.
- Join an event: Encourage your people to fundraise for Good Neighbours Australia in community events such as harmony day virtual Market (https://goodneighbours.com.au/harmony-day-for-ukraine/)
- Sponsor an event: Claim a naming rights sponsorship for one of the Good Neighbours AU events
- Following us on social media(@goodneighboursau): share our projects and event to raise awareness of what is happening
If you are interested in joining our activities, you can follow the link below: https://goodneighbours.com.au/partner-with-us/
What can we expect to see from Good Neighbours Australia in 2022?
We support international causes and the Australian community wherever people are in need. We focus on CALD(Culturally and linguistically diverse) communities that are left behind from the support of society within Australia. We look forward to having more community events and programs in 2022.
