The Indian Society of WA have received a financial boost thanks to the Office of Multicultural Interest’s Community Support Fund.
The 55-year-old not-for-profit association is entirely managed by volunteers, with a 13-member management committee.
The construction of their Willetton community centre was funded by the State and Federal Government, along with support from the members, however the funding did not cover employees to staff the centre.
President Satish Nair said the Community Support Funding of $150,000 over three years would fix that problem and ensure the continued success of the centre.
“The community centre needs to remain open during the day and we are all volunteers,” he said.
“We need the centre to stay open so we needed some support for employees.
“We approached the State Government and that is where the Office of Multicultural Interests came in.
“This is the first time we’ve received this funding, and it will really help the association.”
He said the community centre regularly fields calls from Perth’s Indian community, some complex and some simple, and the funding would create new positions to deal with those calls.
“It is vital funding, not to manage existing expenditure but to create new positions to help us manage,” he said.
“There are so many queries that come in during the day, some simple, others like people needing help, domestic violence and even financial queries, so it’s good to have a person employed to field all these questions.
“Looking after those administrative affairs is crucial, so this funding is so important”
