serving the faith communities of the Goulburn Valley
Marita Taverner had a big family in Shepparton. A mother and grandmother, Marita ‘adopted’ a great many other sons and daughters, particularly in the past 20 years when she supported African immigrants.
She took them to school, to medical appointments, advocated for them and even attended new births.
In 2019, on World Refugee Day, Marita Taverner shared her faith as she undertook her service to the African Community with the St Vincent de Paul Society and the Parish of St Brendans.
Refugees assume serious risks in trying to reach safety. At the same time, fears arise in European countries concerning the stability of societies and their ‘way of life’. These fears are increasingly used and manipulated by populist, nationalist political movements stoking the fire of insecurity and xenophobia. The so-called refugee crisis is treated as a security issue rather than a humanitarian one, and this has to be challenged; this is preventing progress gives reason to the fear people have, as real needs are not met, writes the Luntern Conference of the World Council of Churches.
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