Centacare Catholic Family Services held a second innovative African Dads and Kids Camp in November 2009 in partnership with Victoria Police to help refugee families strengthen their family bonds as they adjust to their new lives in Australia. The camp at Phillip Island involved nine African men and nine of their children aged between nine and 16 years. Most of the participants were from Sudan and have escaped situations of conflict and brutality.

Teing Mawn and his daughter Abuk. Photo: Peter Webb

Camp participant Teing Mawn brought his wife and seven children to Australia in 2005. They had escaped from Sudan into Egypt three years earlier because they feared for their lives. Teing says, “My father and brother were murdered and I was taken away by the armed forces six or seven times. Each time, my family were worried I would never return. Many of my friends had been picked up and killed – simply because they were from South Sudan. My wife was scared that one day soon, our luck might run out. So we escaped across the border into Egypt on a temporary visa and then applied to the United Nations for refugee status.

Teing explains, “We wanted to come to Australia because we heard this country is good for the children.” Teing now has eight children aged between 22 and three years of age and all of them are doing well.

Centacare’s Program Leader Kate McKernin says, “This camp explored the differences and similarities between being a father in Australia and being a father in Africa. It was an opportunity for fathers to discuss how to address the many challenges their children face in adapting to this new culture, and how to renegotiate their roles as fathers in Australia.”

Victoria Police’s Multicultural Liaison Officer, Leading Senior Constable Richard Dove, explains the preventative nature of such a program: “It’s a common mistake to believe that once a refugee family arrives in Australia and the risk of murder, rape, death and disease is now behind them, that all will be well. Many find when they arrive that the greatest battle facing them now is keeping their family together and adjusting to a foreign culture. Creating stronger bonds in the family unit is imperative to enable refugee families to successfully settle here.”

Kate says, “The fun camp activities included learning how to surf. This was a true achievement, considering this was the first time many of these fathers and children have ever swum in the ocean.”

Refugee Fathers Get into the Swim

The Age ran an article (16/11/2009) on the African Dads and Kids Camp, interviewing fathers about how their families are adjusting to Australian culture and how their own roles have changed.
Click here to view the article.

If you would like more information about Centacare's African Dads and Kids Program and upcoming events, please contact:

Kate McKernin, Project Worker
Ph (03) 9287 5560 Fax (03) 9287 5599
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it