SOCIAL ENTERPRISE

MUSTER – Mutual Understanding, Support, Tolerance, Engagement and Respect

We have successfully established RAIN social enterprise in the past two years. The whole process started with the two year MUSTER project funded and supported by the Australian Government.

Garden Committee

Under the efficient guidance of Dr Gunu Naker, the garden committee had regular Working Bee group activities with volunteers actively participating in growing and harvesting vegetables and herbs. Workshops were held in discussing effective usage of the produce and the medicinal and nutritional benefits. Seniors were thrilled to have an opportunity to share their skills in using fresh garden vegetables in cooking and participated enthusiastically in discussing variations to traditional recipes. Connected workshops were conducted such as harvesting ginger and turmeric and preparing pickles out of them, discussing labelling designs using the support of care givers and volunteers. Relevant information was provided through organised meetings.

Story Sharing Event

Planning for a grand finale celebration to share success stories, inviting seniors, new migrants and carers to talk about their learning experiences throughout this project
The stories for the finale are sure to be interesting as we are sharing thoughts of older people who are restricted to their homes with no social activities or connections. Their eagerness to talk about matters relevant to their present situations, the fear of future and issues they are facing will shape the story content for the finale.

FUNDING ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We are extremely thankful to the Australian Government for the funding given to us for this project which helps us continue during emergency times when the needs are immense and truly essential and support given is very much appreciated.

Objectives:

COMMONWEALTH HOME SUPPORT PROGRAMME

To build community resilience through increasing the ability of communities to connect and support each other through both opportunity and adversity.
To empower communities to identify and provide local solutions to local issues and support their people to improve their wellbeing.

Activities

Running of regular recipe sharing and cooking workshops.
Engaging participants and involving senior and volunteers to plan and conduct workshops.
Ongoing cooking sessions to make food for sale.
Cooking workshops with multicultural participants.
Involving seniors and the garden committee in growing, harvesting and preparing spices/herbs/vegetables for the future.
Providing opportunities to connect and support each other through adverse circumstances of Covid-19 isolation.
Training sessions on relevant skills development to be organised with teaching organisations.
Producing marketable products.
Establishing good working relationships with a range of organisations.
Creating purchasing guidance and establish lasting connectivity with ingredient and packing material providers (market place partnering).
Discussion sessions to produce marketable products.
Marketing and selling food products.
Identifying sales strategies to promote amongst the seniors living in the nearby areas.
Delivering effective promotion and advertisement on websites, Facebook etc.

Support During the Pandemic

Welfare checks and creating awareness of safety precautions to be taken during time of pandemic. Constant reminder to older people to remain isolated and for the volunteers to maintain social distancing, hand washing and other safety requirements.

Outcomes

Improved social cohesion through social engagement and empowerment
Assistance with vitamin supplements and nutrition information.
Following plans, regular cooking sessions and Saturday tiffin takeaway initiatives were carried out successfully and we generated income to support nutritional and vitamin supplement needs of the seniors who needed and requested for it.
Seniors above 80 years of age were delighted to be ‘Idea Masters’ and offered suggestions and feedback as the project developed.
Interviews were recorded for documentation.
Multicultural workshops were carried out successfully and State MP Mr Mark Coure visited and participated, encouraging seniors and volunteers.
6 more volunteers joined in and training was provided in First Aid.
Advertisement in the local Indian magazine ‘Indian Link’ brought a lot of interest and the editor visited our centre in Feb 2020. We had an increased number of clients, especially new migrants.
Shopping assistance and meals delivery during Covid-19 isolation.

Challenges

Unfortunately, starting from 15th March due to Covid-19 regulations, we had to stop our activities and the centre was closed for the next three weeks.
Funding possibilities to meet up with emergency situation.
Employing extra staff to meet up with cooking and delivery needs.
Difficulty in conducting workshops due to Covid-19 isolation and social distancing.

Strategies to Overcome Barriers

Due to several requests from the vulnerable older people (especially older people living on their own who were unable to cook for themselves), we started cooking at the centre from mid-April with only two people at a time in the premises. Volunteers assisted with delivery and rosters were prepared by the committee to support this system. The younger committee members came forward to assist in whatever way possible. We have been assisting people on their own and meals have been delivered at moderate or no cost at times. Takeaway tiffin is given out at a moderate cost encouraging seniors, carers, new migrants and refugees with young children to make use of the support system.
The committee also organised for Easter and Mothers’ day gift packs to older members of the community to encourage and maintain an atmosphere of well-being and community caring.
We continued to maintain contact with seniors and consumers by checking on their welfare and needs. We decided to provide shopping assistance in the beginning and volunteer contribution toward this has been tremendous. They provided staunch support in taking on rolls to assist with shopping for the isolated elderly and delivering, taking extra care to follow safety rules and social distancing.
New migrants esp. women who were pregnant were also helped with freshly cooked meals during the isolation period.
We included project-based activities and issue-based meetings reinforcing the strategy initiatives. More new migrants who needed support to assimilate in the community came forward and appreciated having a place to interact with the older members.
Committee continues to discuss and develop ideas around the future of RAIN social enterprise activities and seniors are encouraged to come up with recipe sharing on their phone and through apps such as Facebook and WhatsApp, which keeps them interested and involved.
We continue to interview individual seniors on their experience and ideas for improving projects. They suggest food items such as snacks that can be stored and used in emergency situations. They are happy to be part of a project that assists them and their friends to get healthy food at a moderate cost or at no cost during a time of isolation, fear for the future and need to build immunity. With conversations, our staff and volunteers encourage them to be positive and be assured of help when needed. Many are provided with shopping assistance.
We are further encouraged by the increased number of volunteers and also consumers of different age groups developing an interest in the project and community awareness and support being created. This is great for marketing further products.

We are currently cooking and continue to deliver meals every day. New stakeholders are added to the list and a credit system has been established. Regular planning, listing of essentials and workforce system are being progressively established to create effective capacity building. Major achievements include social inclusion and empowerment for the language restricted and socially isolated elderly in the community (especially in an emergency situation due to Covid-19). Intergenerational and multicultural social networking is a naturally evolving result and this is growing with Facebook and word of mouth advertising campaign.

Volunteer Involvement

Encouraged volunteers to take turns in providing assistance to seniors in isolation.
Increased number of volunteers and enhanced confidence.
Police clearance certificates for volunteers in place.
Well organised and well attended cooking sessions and tiffin preparation on Saturday until Covid-19 isolation.
Successful networking between volunteers, seniors and new migrants.
All in all, this is a time when volunteers have been so caring and compassionate in helping and supporting the most vulnerable elderly in the community.

Volunteer Training

First Aid training sessions for 20 volunteers at Club Central by Vital First Aid training services.
Internal training for volunteers on networking assisting and maintaining social distancing rules and safety regulations.
Food safety training by consultant, NSW Food Safety Pty Ltd.
Information on Use of Personal Protective equipment.
E-learning training on Covid-19 for all volunteers.

Our Services

CHSP

Commonwealth Home Support Package

Funded by the Australian Government.

Under this program RAIN organises activities for frail seniors, designed to develop, maintain or support their capacity for independent living as well as social interaction, conducted in the safe setting of our day centre or on organised outings.

HOME CARE PACKAGES

in home aged care Packages

Government funded packages for in-home aged care services.

Under this program RAIN provides government funded Home Care packages for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Senior Australians of the Indian Sub–Continent community with special needs.