Refugee Airfare Loans Scheme
Electronic copy of RALS BROCHURE
Refugee Celebration Service
Come Along to hear stories of our RALS families and celebrate opportunity, friendship and solidarity across multicultural communities.
Date: Saturday 28th June, 2008
Venue: Collins Street Baptist Church - 174 Collins Street, Melbourne.
Guest Speaker: Rev Alan Marr- Director of Ministries, BUV.
Refreshments served after the service.
For further information contact:
Choul Gai 0402 708 306
RALS Celebration Service Brochure(pdf)
WHEN A PLANE TICKET REALLY MEANS A NEW LIFE… 
RALS (Refugee Airfare Loans Scheme) was started by the Baptist Union of Victoria in response to the growing need of refugees in offshore refugee camps to fund their own airfares to come to Australia . Most sponsors, themselves ex-refugees and recent arrivals to Australia, lack the financial means to raise or borrow the funds needed for the airfares to reunite their families here. The refugees RALS support are mostly from South Sudan as well as Liberia, and the Chin & Karen ethnic community in Burma.
Many refugees have experienced unimaginable horrors as they as they endured the tragedies of war, displacement and years of waiting in refugee camps. The delight at finally being granted a visa to enter Australia is often overshadowed by the pressure to come up with the fees for the airfare. If the cost of the airfares is not met promptly, they will need to go through the very long and expensive visa application process again and the opportunity could be lost.
RALS has enabled around 115 adults and 110 children to make their way to a new life and home in Australia, thanks to generous donations and interest-free loans of RALS.
RALS provides interest-free loans of up to 90% of the total airfare cost. The average airfare is $800-$1,000 per adult. All loan repayments go back into a revolving pool of funds to be available to support the next refugee.
INTERESTED IN JOINING THE RALS COMMITTEE?
WOULD YOU LIKE RALS TO DO A PRESENTATION AT YOUR CHURCH OR SMALLGROUP?
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT BECOMMING A RALS SUPPORTER!
Meet Jordan, who came to Australia in 1994 after a life of persecution. He was able to sponsor and pay for his family to join him this year through RALS….
David Manyang Tut came to Melbourne in May 2005, through the BUV Refugee Airfare Loan Scheme. Meewon Yang spent some time with Manyang and shares his story below. She had recently watched a fascinating documentary called the ‘Lost Boys of Sudan’, then, she actually met one…
Thank you all for your partnership, care, support and prayer. May God bless you as we work together. If you would like further information about how to help, please call Meewon at the BUV on 9880-6144 or email me at meewon.yang@buv.com.au
Meewon Yang
BUV Multicultural Minister and RALS Committee
April 2007
Back