Centre of Welcome

Summary:

Centre Of Welcome: Tuesdays 10:30 – 3.00 pm
A multicultural place of welcome for all new arrivals in Adelaide.

We offer:

A multicultural playgroup and

Informal English Conversation Classes on Tuesdays during term time.

The coordinators are Liellie McLaughlin, phone: 0437794410 and Bridgette Mooney 0439359991

The Welcome Centre at Maughan Uniting Church is a multi-cultural initiative aimed to help new arrivals (of all ages) to be welcomed to the city of Adelaide.  The centre started to operate in March 2008 and is supported by the Uniting Foundation of the Uniting Church (SA).  The two coordinators, Liellie McLaughlin and Bridgette Mooney have sought and appreciated the help from volunteers from a wide community base, both from within Maughan Church as well as from the wider community.  Students of the Big Year Out Programme have contributed towards the centre in terms of assistance and support.  The Playgroup Association (SA) has also contributed towards the programme by supporting our playgroup with the help of an assistant for one year. This support is given to the Welcome Centre in recognition of the multi-cultural basis of the playgroup and is dedicated to grow the play-group as an independent community.  The Playgroup Association of SA has also donated some play equipment to the centre.

The programme consists of:

  • A playgroup for babies to pre-schoolers, where the emphasis is on interactive play and preparing the children to be school-ready with-in the Australian cultural context;
  • Informal teaching of how to entertain and play with children at home.
  • A relaxed and friendly English conversation class, where assistance is given to complete homework; to facilitate spoken and written English; and to enable participants to understand the Australian culture better.
  • A substantial morning tea, consisting of bread; soup and fruit, is part of the modelling of healthy eating habits.
  • A full day excursion is organised during every school holiday, to equip and teach parents with children how to entertain their children during the holidays. One of the excursions was to visit Glenelg beach via tram, another was to the SA museum. The excursions are very well attended. Further excursions are planned.

An important aim of the Welcome Centre is to facilitate and optimise cultural exchange and appreciation between the guests and the volunteers.  The Welcome Centre is dedicated to improve the sense of welcome of strangers to a new land and a new language.  The cultural and language exchanges taking place between volunteers and guests are rich and full of potential for deeper connections and meaning, within the base of informal learning and friendly encouragement.

Photographs showing some of the activities of the Welcome Centre are shown here, here and here.