Subject: 'austraLasia' #338

Note - apologies for long hiatus. The dreaded crash - including backup! Back in business with some wire, chewing gum and bandaids (sort of).

VIET-AUSTRALIAN SALESIAN WINS ACCOLADES FOR VIOLENCE PROGRAM

MELBOURNE: 15th May -- From 'boat person' to award winning counsellor, Father Joe Binh's life has been one of constant energy and achievement. Last year, he and his Centacare Catholic Family Services team turned that dynamism into a program that won accolades from Australia's Heads of Government.

As a 20-year-old refugee, he fled his native Vietnam on an old boat and ended up briefly in Malaysia before being granted refugeee then residential status in Australia. There he joined the Salesians and was ordained in 1992. Over the years Fr. Joe became prominent on radio, focusing on family problems in ethnic communities.

The award winning program, Managing Anger in the Vietnamese Family, has been awarded a Certificate of Merit in the Australian Violence Prevention Awards presented by the Australian Heads of Government. The awards are backed by the Prime Minister and by State and Territory Premiers/Chief Ministers.

The program is based on research showing links between violence, migratory and ethnic experience. It involves groups working in sessions over 12 weeks with a number of techniques including personal story sharing, exploring abuse and respect, parenting and children in different cultures, traditional Vietnamese heroism stories, listening and communication skills, problem solving.

Fr. Binh said the development of the pilot project, while difficult, showed that with ethnically sensitive planning and resources, further programs could be refined to deal effectively with a disturbing problem.

In the meantime, while carrying out this demanding and successful role, Fr. Binh also teaches music just as successfully at the local Salesian College (St. Joseph's)attached to his Salesian Community at Ferntree Gully.