Sustaining Sudanese Settlement in Murray Bridge South Australia
How Murray Bridge has attracted Sudanese settlers by choice, made them welcome, and is planning to retain them: report of a Sustainable Regional Settlement investigation
Murray Bridge is a regional centre about 80km from Adelaide. In mid 2006 the first Sudanese family self-settled in Murray Bridge, and since January 2008 a further fourteen families have moved to the town as secondary migrants. More families are currently planning to relocate from as far afield as Melbourne.
The Sudanese community in Murray Bridge enjoys 100% employment and is well integrated into the community. This is a result of the great work of the local community in supporting new migrants. The community wants to not only attract new settlers like these, but to retain them.
In 2008 Lutheran Community Care New Settler Services won a Sustainable Regional Settlement grant from the Immigration Department to conduct an investigation into sustaining the settlement of the Sudanese in Murray Bridge.
The project used a participatory action research model.
Current Sudanese residents and some who had left contributed to the research as participants in surveys and focus groups.
Service providers, businesses, and employers were interviewed about the objectives of the study.
A steering group met six times over the course of the research. The group consisted of researchers, representatives from the local council, the Regional Development Board, schools, New Settler Services, and three members of the Sudanese community of Murray Bridge.
Issues that were identified from the interviews and surveys were addressed as the project progressed, for example, one of the issues identified by the Sudanese was access to the public library. As a result of steering group discussions, the local council (which funds the library) was briefed, then on Council’s request a follow up survey was completed, and the steering group kept oversight of the issue. A trial of weekend openings is now being planned.
The opportunity to use th
The major pull factors for permanent movement to Murray Bridge are:
• Positive employment prospects: Findings from Adelaide University doctoral research in Adelaide in 2008 16.7% of Sudanese reported that they were unemployed, whereas unemployment amongst the same community in Murray Bridge for the same period was zero (Balasingam, upcoming).
• Affordable housing: Participants noted that the housing rental in Murray Bridge is more affordable there than in Metro Adelaide (for example, in March 2009 the median home rental for the Adelaide area was $380 per week, while in Murray Bridge it was $220.00 (http://www.suburbview.com/)). However those in a family unit did mention about the lack of choices in the size of the accommodation (i.e. no. of rooms).
• Proximity of family and friends: the great majority of the
Sudanese in Murray Bridge come from the one sub-group
• The Murray Bridge community is seen as welcoming and friendly
• The schools are perceived as excellent (for those attending primary and high scho
1. Report: Sustaining Settlement in Murray Bridge is printed and launched in September 2009
2. Settlement workers and members of the Sudanese community:
• Support the establishment of the Murray Bridge education precinct
• Support the initiatives to move the state government to upgrade public transport
• Advocate changes to state & federal policies to sustain migrant numbers in regions
3. Widen the integration experience of the refugees in Murray Bridge to include all members of the Murray Bridge community including the traditional owners, the Ngarrindjeri people.
Read more:
Submitted by:
Nayano Taylor-Neumann & Raj Balasingam
PhD students
Lutheran Community Care Murraylands New Settler Services, Sustainable Regional Settlement Project
5 Marchand St, Murray Bridge , SA, 5253
ph:08 8531 3644/0439 874 591
email: natylor-neumann@lccsa.org.au
web: www.lccsa.org.au
Categories:
Categories:Children and Families, Community Development, Regional and Rural
Themes:How Murray Bridge has attracted Sudanese settlers by choice, made them welcome, and is planning to retain them.
Release Date:13-Jun-2009
Date of Study:13-Jun-2009
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