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Community Development Projects in Australia

Community Development Projects in Australia

Since its inception in 2017, BMF has worked with various community organisations in Australia to promote multiculturalism and be an active member of the Australian society. While the history of Afghans in Australia dates back to 19th Century, the Afghan community today is considered relatively new and an emerging community in Australia.

Our areas of community development projects include but are not limited to: 

  • Multicultural Projects
  • Youth and Sport Projects 
  • Women Empowerment Projects

Bush Fire Appeal

After the devastating bush fire in 2019/2020, BMF managed a fundraising campaign among the Hazara community in Australia for the bush fire appeal and donated the amount to the state government.

Tree Planting - Kangaroo Island

BMF in collaboration with the Land for Wildlife and KI Council sent a group of 14 volunteers on a two-day journey to plant nearly 3600 trees in two sites in Kangaroo Island.

In fact, it was 1838 when the very first Afghans were brought to South Australia followed by their Camels in early 1840. Many more Afghans and their Camels were brought to Australia in the subsequent years to open up the inhospitable Australian outback. These Afghans who were known as ‘Cameleers’ or simply as ‘the Ghan’ played a significant role in building the railway line connecting central Australia to South Australia as well as the overland telegraph line. Today’s ‘The Ghan’ train service connecting Adelaide, Alice Spring and Darwin is named in honour of those Afghans.  

However, the present Afghan community in Australia and South Australia start arriving in late 1990s and early 2000s in very small numbersSince 2006, the number of Afghans has increased substantially and continues to do so to this day. In this regard, Afghans in Australia is considered new and an emerging community in comparison to more established multicultural groups that came as a result of the abolition of white policy beginning in the early 1970s. According to the 2016 ABS statistics 46, 799 people stated Afghanistan as their place of birth. South Australia has the third largest concentration of Afghans in Australia after Victoria and New South Wales with over six thousand Afghans.  

Since the Afghan community is relatively new and is an emerging community, it is our duty and responsibility to connect our community to the wider multicultural societies and link them to the government and non-governmental services.  With the help of government grants and with a strong community based support we aim to conduct projects to help foster community cohesion and strengthen multiculturalism and diversity in Australia particularly in South Australia. We believe that we can learn a lot not only from other migrant communities but more importantly from the mainstream society as well as from our Indigenous Australians. Like our ancestors that come to Australia in the 19th Century, we believe that we can play a constructive role in the development of South Australia and Australia as whole.