Fleur Bayley, Project Officer 

Cressida Hall, Executive Manager

Mat weaving training for older rural women in Pursat Province, Cambodia

In India is the Pitchandikulum Bio-resource Centre or PBRC.

In Uganda there are two projects:

• St Jude Family Projects, Greater Masaka
• Dream Farm in western Uganda

QSA is accredited by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), responsible for managing Australia’s development program. To maintain accreditation, QSA’s systems, policies and processes are rigorously reviewed by the Australian Government. The majority of QSA’s international projects are delivered in partnership with the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP), with QSA contributing a minimum of 20% of project funding.

A key part of ANCP accreditation is membership of the Australian Council for International Development  and a commitment to uphold its code of conduct. There are QSA compulsory standards which QSA is assessed against every three years, including:

• Safeguarding of children and vulnerable people
• Anti-fraud and corruption
• Counterterrorism
• Preventing sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment

Other funding

QSA’s refugee and asylum-seeker projects are funded by a 2017 bequest from Brian Kenneth Aubrey. This bequest has funded projects emerging from Quaker community concerns such as Manus Lives Matter, Permaculture for Refugees, Queensland Regional Meeting’s loan fund for family reunions for refugees from east Africa and the translation and publication of Rowe Morrow’s permaculture handbook into Bangala.

QSA has decided to disburse funds remaining from the bequest over the next three years. There will be two funding rounds each year with a total of $43,000 disbursed each year for projects in Australia or overseas. The next closing date for applications will be 31 October 2024. Applications are welcomed for projects which involve community partners.  All information will be on our website and promoted through Streamlines and QSA notes.

QSA’s vision for the future

Johan Galtung, a Norwegian sociologist and the principal founder of the discipline of peace and conflict studies, deepened the concepts of positive and negative peace. Briefly, negative peace is seen as the containment of war and is represented by the work of entities such as the UN Peacekeeping Forces. Positive peace means more than the absence of war. It aims to strengthen societies through addressing structural and interpersonal violence such as discrimination. It’s about the building up of the capacity within a society to prevent future violence.

This concept of positive peace sits well with Quaker faith and practice. We believe in living to take away the occasion of all war. Our testimony of Community sees community as a necessary foundation for justice and peace.

Following on from the testimony of Community, QSA aims to strengthen links with other Quaker peace building initiatives such as Friends Peace Teams, our QPLC Peace worker and The Friends’ School. We aim to provide an opportunity for such groups to meet for spiritual nurturing, networking and possible collaboration.

What does this mean for QSA’s current projects?

Currently QSA supports several projects which may not fit into the proposed vision, focussing on educating and empowering individuals rather than communities. While improving the lives of individuals and families is important, QSA will work with partners to develop programs that fit into the new focus to build resilient communities.

Child rights training as part of the peacebuilding project in Kampong Chhnang Province, Cambodia

We recognise that some partners may not wish to change in line with the new QSA vision, leading to the end of some relationships. Such decisions will not be a taken lightly, and if necessary QSA will transition out of these relationships over time and with proper consultation.

Some of our projects will naturally fit into our proposed vision. An example of this is the peace building project run by Khmer Community Development and supported by the Jan de Voogd Peace Fund. Its intention was to reduce conflict and strengthen collaboration in ethnically diverse communities in Kampong Chhnang Province, Cambodia, using education to reduce disadvantage and promote collaboration.

The St Jude project is another example, using agricultural sustainability as the tool to promote community harmony, to build resilient communities.

 How to get involved: Treasure, time and talent

Mark Deasey reminded us of the link between our Quaker faith and service

 The dichotomy of faith and action, spirituality and works, becomes less and less relevant the more we look at our work in the whole of the life of the Meeting. We are ready for action when the need arises in large part because we have waited quietly on God’s leadings. The act of worship is the seeking to drop the self and its immediate outward concerns: to shed our own agendas and expectations, and to be ready to be carried where the Spirit moves us. The constant practice of turning towards the Light is the essence.

 QSA continues to rely on the Quaker community for its vision, mission and nurturing. There are multiple ways that Friends are needed and welcomed by QSA. These include:

•  Regular donations and fundraising
• Membership of the company (download a membership form at www.qsa.org.au/get-involved/)
• Submitting an expression of interest to become a Director of the Board

Please go to the QSA website for further information at any time.

QSA is a member of the Australian Council for International Development and is a signatory to the ACFID Code of Conduct. The purpose of QSA is to express in a practical way the concern of Australian Quakers for the building of a more peaceful, equitable, just and compassionate world. To this end QSA works with communities in need to improve their quality of life with projects which are culturally sensitive, as well as being economically and environmentally appropriate and sustainable.

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