About us
who are we? a brief history
The Sri Lankan born community in Australia is made up of three main ethnic groups: the Burghers (the direct descendants of Europeans during the colonial times), the Singhalese and the Tamil communities. Though they come from the same country the cultural profiles of these groups are very different. The early migrants are largely professionals with high levels of education (skilled migrants). However, a large number of Tamils migrated to Australia in the 1980s as humanitarian entrants sponsored by their family members under the family re-union programme – a direct result of the communal violence that occurred in Sri Lanka in July 1983. Adjusting to this new socio-economic and cultural environment and settling in this new country was a major challenge for these seniors. They were confronted with language barriers, isolation, cultural barriers, employment challenges and community connections.
In order to address these issues and to provide some community support, one of the early migrants formed a support group of younger emigrants in the church. This group started growing in size and it became difficult for them to operate as a church group. Hence these small groups of Christians and Hindus decided to form a Fellowship. In 1987, they drafted a constitution for a not-for-profit, community based, organization called “Tamil Senior Citizens Fellowship (Victoria) Inc. This briefly is the history of the formation of the Tamil Senior Citizens Fellowship in Victoria.
Today we have over 300 paid members in the Fellowship and is continuously growing. The Fellowship is supported by the Federal and State Governments and many City Councils in Victoria. The City Council of Monash provides the necessary physical facilities along with a modest monetary contribution to support the various activities of the Fellowship. The Fellowship is managed by a Management Committee consisting of 17 volunteers.
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According to our constitution the broader objectives the Fellowship are to:
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Preserve and promote Language and culture of the Tamils
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Promote health and well-beings of the seniors
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Organize social activities and generate fellowships amongst Tamil speaking senior citizens of Victoria
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Foster and promote friendship and understanding between the people of Australia and the Tamil community
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Maintain cordial and friendly relationship with all ethnic communities in our multicultural Australia
Our Fellowship is secular in nature. The core values and principles that guide our activities are: equality, unity in diversity and multiculturalism. The Fellowship is making every effort to maintain their traditions, values and identity within our successful multicultural society.
The regular activities of the Fellowship include:
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Organizing monthly luncheon meetings; cultural and religious events; exercise classes; health and wellbeing related seminars
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Organizing recreational activities including excursions (National and international)
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Organizing learning and skill building events
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Publication and distribution of quarterly News Bulletins and monthly Newsletters, annual reports and other special documents of interest to the seniors
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Assisting the community to effectively access the support and services provided by the Councils, State and Federal Government Agencies
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Actively participate in the various multicultural activities organized by the different Communities, Multicultural Commission, Ethnic Community Councils, Refugee Centres as well as the City, State and Federal Agencies.
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On a regular basis we organize three meetings of the Fellowship.
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The monthly get together and luncheon session of the Fellowship at the main Oakleigh Hall, generally on the 3rd Saturday of every month except in December and March.
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Weekly gathering of the members at the Huntingdale Community Centre every Wednesday, and at Black Flat Community Hall every Thursday.
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Monthly meeting of the Management Committee, normally second Monday after the monthly luncheon sessions.
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The Christmas Celebration is held on the first or second Saturday in December and the Annual General Meeting is held on the last Saturday of March every year.
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In addition to the above the Membership is also involved in providing other important services to the community through affiliated associations:
Tamil Senior Citizens Saiva Funeral Services Association: Here a group of our members administer the rituals at the funeral in accordance with the Hindu custom. The first such service was conducted by this group on 15 March, 2014.This group also published a book “Death and Last Rites of Saivites Hindus” describing the procedure for performing this service.
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Low Cost Housing for Members: This is a limited service.
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The business of the Fellowship is managed by a Committee. The committee consists of a President, two Vice-Presidents, a Secretary, an Assistant Secretary, a Treasurer, an Assistant Treasurer, an Editor, an Assistant Editor and 8 Ordinary members. No member can be in the executive position as either the president, the secretary, the treasurer or the editor for more than 4 years in total. All are volunteers and members of the Fellowship. This committee is elected at the Annual General Meeting every year. No member shall hold office in the same position as office bearer or committee member for more than two (2) consecutive terms. No member shall be in the executive position as either the president, the secretary or the treasurer for more than four (4) years in total. No member shall be in the committee for more than eight (8) years in total. The roles and responsibilities of the office bearers and the ordinary members are specified in the constitution as well as in the code of conduct established by the Management Committee. The committee is collectively responsible for ensuring that the Association complies with the Act (Association Incorporation Reform Act 2012) and the individual members of the committee comply with the Rules as stipulated in the Constitution. The Committee is also responsible for ensuring that the requirements under the Act relating to the financial statements of the Association (including internal and external audit of the accounts) are met.
To make the management process more effective and efficient the Management Committee has established a number of Sub Committees: The Grants and Finance Sub Committee, Cultural Program Sub Committee; Lunch Sub Committee; Recreational Sub Committee, Editorial Sub Committee, and Sub Committee for Health and Well-being of the Elderly Seniors. Each Sub Committee consists of about 5 members and lead by a coordinator. The roles and responsibilities of the Sub Committees are defined and approved by the Management Committee. The President and Secretary may attend such Sub Committee meetings as ex-officio members. On procedural matters where the constitution is silent, the chairperson’s ruling in keeping with the conduct of the Meeting of Voluntary Associations is followed.