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WHEELCHAIRS FOR KIDSYOUTH OFF THE STREETS
Page: 18490The Hon. SHAOQUETT MOSELMANE [13 March 2013, 6.31
p.m.]:Humanitarian work and volunteering has become the hallmark of
being an Australian.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of Australians do whatever it takes
to help not only their fellowcitizens but also their brothers and
sisters across the globe. I am proud to be part of thisglobal
humanitarianism crossing all boundaries of race and religion.
Serving those in need isthe ultimate test of humanity, and having
met so many selfless people over the years hasinspired me to become
even more involved. I am proud to have initiated a number
offundraisers in recent years and to have raised money for the
Victorian bushfire appeal,Queensland flood appeal, China earthquake
appeal, Japan tsunami appeal, East Africanfamine appeal and the
Wheelchair for Kids appeal, and I recently commenced work on
theChina initiative of Youth Off The Streets. Of all the
fundraising work I have been involvedin, none has touched me more
or given me greater joy than being involved in the
inspirationalorganisations of Youth Off The Streets and Wheelchairs
for Kids, convened by Father Chris
Riley and Gerry Georgatos.
Wheelchairs for Kids is a Rotary supported not-for-profit
volunteer group of retirees whomanufacture wheelchairs and then
donate them throughout the world to poor and disabledchildren,
particularly those in developing countries. Some 25,000 wheelchairs
have beenmanufactured and donated to 61 countries during the 14
years of Wheelchairs for Kids. LastDecember I held my first
fundraiser for Wheelchairs for Kids, in conjunction with
theLebanese Community Council of New South Wales. At that function
40 guests raised$30,000. I thank the following people for their
generosity: Bill Elcheikh, Michael Jarjoura,OAM, Walid Awada,
Hassan Harb, Adnan Murad, Mahmoud Mouhana, my brother,Mohamed
Mouslimani, and Zack Rifai. A container of 330 wheelchairs has been
sent to Iraqand another is on its way to Lebanon. These will be
followed by another container of 340wheelchairs to Gaza and another
to Pakistan. By the end of the year I hope to send two
morecontainers to Iraq and Lebanon. Overall, I hope to raise enough
money to send eightwheelchair containers.
This Sunday at Guildford Moustapha Hamid's Bhanin El-Minieh
Association and I will holda family fundraising Harmony Day
festival. Another is being planned for Pakistan with hisExcellency
Azam Mohamed, Consul General of Pakistan, with the support of the
AustralianPakistani community. My newest project is establishing a
relationship of cooperation
between Father Riley's Youth Off The Streets and a community
correction centre in Xuhui
District, Shanghai, China. Over the past five months I have made
a couple of visits to Chinaseeking to establish the Australian
Guangxi Chamber of Commerce and the AustralianChengdu Chamber of
Commerce. I will report on the great progress that has been made
onthose two initiatives on another occasion.
On my first visit I raised the issue of the potential for Youth
Off The Streets to help the youthof China with Mr Lin Guan Liang,
Deputy Director of the Inspection Division, CommunistParty,
Shanghai Branch. Director Lin had shown extensive interest in the
welfare of young
people. Proudly, thanks to Director Lin, on my second visit I
represented Father Riley'sYouth Off The Streets. Father Riley's
organisation works with young homeless people whoare drug dependent
and recovering from abuse. Following my visit, our Chinese
counterpart
organisation has written to me expressing interest in sending a
delegation of youth workers tolearn from Father Riley's
organisation.
