ATTENTION: PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT FROM AL FITRA AMIRA Assalaamu Alaykum So what has Al Fitra been up in the past year! Firstly I would like to note that we have been greatly hindered by a delay in our council application. Fuelled by ongoing debates even though we have met all requirements each time, they have persisted to find fault. Councils town planner Sindhu Kaphle has confirmed several times that he is happy for the DA (DA-552/2013 ) to be approved and it was the traffic planner who was having problems. However, he then advised he would put in for a “refusal” with no reasoning given. Our very patient architecture company, who have persevered through the council process, refused to allow them to give us a refusal without grounds, especially since we have satisfied all obstacles thrown our way. They have looked for every avenue possible to refuse us, yet, alhumdulillah by the will of Allah it has not been possible as we have worked diligently to ensure we are meeting all requirements. You are welcome to look at the documents for public viewing in this DA noted above. It has been costly and taxing on our own health and well being. So you may ask, “Why would we waste so much time and money in this place?” “Why not go to another area to a better property?” The reasons are not as simple as you may think. Firstly, the needs of our centre are quite specific. Such as a large outdoor space is necessary. The right zoning (B), and it must be centrally local. It also must be cheap and able to be set up for special needs compliance. Many of our special needs community simply cant travel out to Liverpool or more distant locations and close proximity to accessible transport is essential. Nor can they be put into an indoor only facility, the outdoors is a very important part of quality and therapy. These are all major considerations for us. The next consideration is the future. We want to use this property as a modelling or with view to buy once we are set up. Those with valuable experience in these matters are welcome to give us advice and all directions will be considered. We have been offered to use land owned by a mosque, however this is not the road Al Fitra wants to travel. Due to the special needs community being from very diverse backgrounds, being independence is important. We need stability, but at what cost? We spent 1 year looking for this property which meets all the requirements and independent needs. Of course if council refuse our DA we will be devastated as our dreams for our community to finally be more complete for all Muslims special needs will be taking a longer road. Yet we have total faith that this is what Allah wants and with that is a certain ease. Maybe a lesson for us, and a lesson for our community. Our community has only really started to develop service wise in the last few years and our dream is to ensure our services to those who are in need are fulfilled to the best of our capacity. Although we ask our community to be understanding that we are human and although we are trying our best, working to all hours of the night and day, please have mercy upon us and patience to see this be fulfilled. The stress on all those working endlessly in a mind field of personalities, trials and deception is definitely not an easy task. We are stretched, we are tired, and we not giving up. We also ask any person who has something to offer in advice, material sense or with our vision to come and see us or drop us a line. We are very approachable and open to our community having an interest in our plight. We may not take all upon board, but it will be discussed, options considered and pondered upon. We have also come to the conclusion that our DA is being hindered by circumstances beyond our control. In which we thank Allah for such a trial. We thank him for a few reasons. 1.All trials are a blessing. 2.Those who are taking their time to stop our DA have not harmed us, they have made us stronger and all that is concealed in this life will show on judgement day. Do they not trust that He can see all. I cant thank them enough for this as their ways has given us more of a trial, and in that more rewards to be gained. Allahu akbar! 3.It has strengthened me beyond what I thought I had inside. It has made me aware that the world can be harsh, but it can also be worth it, when it is done for Allahs sake. My shura do not get paid. My shura volunteer their endless hours for the sake of Allah. We will not be stopped. We will find a way around it all. In which I am pleased to announce. In all the red tape, and plans that have been held we have been forced to find a way without the need of council DA. So regardless of whether we get it or not, we are moving on with projects that are not reliant on their DA! Whoohoo, that is the best revelation! We have Halal Meals (logo attached...look out for us!) beginning in 2 months, in sha Allah. It is a halal alternative to Meals on Wheels. But with hand slaughtered meat, and traditional Arabic foods that meets all recommended dietary intakes, and respective licensing. It is has been in the making for quite some time! In fact we first started to develop the idea 1 year ago. So to see the project in close proximity is pretty exciting. Some of our programs that are currently running: Braille printing: We can print Braille in 128 languages. We also helped a brother who is bilingual in both the Australian Braille and Arabic Braille to stay in Australia after the government tried to deport him due to his “blindness” being a cost on the Australian health care if his application is successful, despite him holding a PHD level degree. We are pleased to announce he is currently undergoing a health check after a 1 year fight. The brother is happy assist Al Fitra in anyway should he be successful. May Allah grant him and his family residency and to be able to benefit the Muslims here. Ameen. Regular Signing at events. Many of the events you have seen in the past year with AUSLAN interpreters have been provided by Al Fitra. We believe this is important that our deaf are no longer alienated from our community. Event Special Needs Care: We have supplied the disability toilets, rest area and equipment at the Eid Festival for the past 2 years. The first ever for our community! Equipment Loan: We have purchased some wheelchairs, ramps and day chairs for the use of those who need, whether from interstate or local. This equipment is for day or weekend use. Maybe you have a loved one who doesnt typically use a chair, but is going to an event or fair that requires lots of walking. The ramps are portable and can fit easily into any car. Advocacy: Al Fitra has been networking with other organisations to ensure their events are special needs accessible. We have published a checklist/guide for the community event holders to use in the planning of their events to ensure they are special needs considered. Pls see the attached guide and be free to use it! :-D Deaf and HOH: We are in partnership with Muslim Deaf Association Sydney which has been extremely active in providing dawah for the deaf Muslims of Australia. There has been a deaf exclusive event which was extremely productive, providing live captioning, AUSLAN interpreters and dawah packs. We are also holding segregated AUSLAN (sign language) courses. We really need hearing brothers and sisters to join these classes with view to the future of having hearing interpreters, interpret our khutbahs! We also need our deaf and HOH brothers and sisters to join these classes as a help for our hearing! Contact us NOW. If you feel you have a skill or are trained in any of the areas mentioned, can help us with our DA or would be interested in becoming a volunteer. We are happy to hear from you! May Allah grant us all what is best for us in this life and the next. Ameen. (SRT)
Posted on: Mon, 18 Aug 2014 10:02:28 +0000
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