Tell Magazine - Fusion Action

Journal of the Breakthru Generation

Fusion Action

FEATURES
- Silverchair - The Big Breakup - Hollie Grima - Music Pirates - Famous Last Words - El Shaddai Crew - Listening - What Did You Just Say - Matt & Luke Cole - Bridge to Terabithia - A Hunger to Help - Peace & Quiet - Ugly Betty - Donut Recipe
REGULARS
- Editorial - Fusion Action - World News - Q & C - U Tell Us - Garage Band - Craft - Holy Cow - Odd Bits - Contact Us - Subscribe - Xpression - Links

want more Tell
why not
Subscribe ?

Aussie School Team plays Soccer in East Germany!

Seelow, just 20 minutes from the East German border with Poland, is the place where the Russian Army invaded Germany at the end of World War II. This area was locked away until the fall of the Berlin Wall.

A couple of Aussies taught English at Seelow High School several months ago and as a result an invitation was extended to young Australians to join in a 3-nation Soccer match at the school. 12 Aussie young people responded including Tim Rowe from the Sunshine Coast, Bowen Miller from the Gold Coast, Tim Strange from Mornington and Jonathon Ireson from Newcastle. They were joined by young Fusion team members from the UK. The third nation in the competition was Poland.

The Aussies looked fantastic in their specially-designed uniforms. Sadly, they didn't win the competition, but they did beat the eventual winners during the course of the games. The final evening at the school was a highlight! The Aussie team sang, "Give me a home among the gum trees", taught a bush dance and got everyone doing the Hokey Pokey! An Aussie Rules footie was presented to one of the German students and many later lined up for a Youth Day Trip which combined students from Berlin and Seelow.

Another exciting development this year has been the purchase of a fully equipped campsite called Derfflinger Hoff. The 38 houses each with 3 bedrooms were built in the 1700s to be used as a place to provide poor children in Berlin with a holiday place. One of the Aussie soccer players, Bowen Miller, describes how it came about: "By a miracle, the locals put together and bought Fusion this property to use as a base. The dream for Derfflinger Hoff is for it to be a place where the youth of the region can come together, be trained and discover a future."

Water Tank for Yendi, Ghana

Ghana is a West African country with a population of about 19 million—a little smaller than Australia. All these people are packed into a place a bit larger than Victoria. The south of the country is very different to the north, in many respects: geographically, economically and socially. The people in the north live in difficult conditions, and daily life is a struggle.

Fusion has made an important connection with a town in the north of Ghana called Yendi. In June, some Fusion workers from Sydney volunteered to go to Yendi to build a 10,000 litre water tank, funded by the Australian High Commission in Ghana.

Michael Cleary, another Australian who visited Yendi for the 'grand opening' of the water tank expressed some of the emotion and excitement around the occasion. "Over 300 people of all ages were hanging around before and after. There were great celebrations at the cutting of the ribbon to the water supply. Mal Garvin encouraged hundreds of hands go up when he asked who wanted to be part of doing more stuff like this for the good of community. Local women queued with 40 litre cans that they filled and carried away balanced on their heads. We had moments when we had to stop the program when a couple of chiefs arrived with their entourage, drums and dancers! The Australian High Commissioner is very responsive and making overtures about other ways to help."

Fusion Ghana's centre in Yendi will provide training and capacity-building to local volunteers so they can contribute to the well-being of the whole community. It also aims to serve the community by providing lodgings at low cost to tourists and travellers.

Day Trip in Albania isn't so simple!

Meet Erion and Desara, youth leaders in Korea, Albania, surrounded by a hundred or so enthusiastic young people! They have a monthly Day Trip but things tend to be a bit more difficult than in Australia.

Erion wrote," The place that we found was beautiful and on the edge of a lake but we had a lot of challenges. There wasn't any well or any way of getting water there. We had to take containers of water with us. Neither was there a place to cook dinner, onsite. We ended up leaving a group in Korea to make dinner then drive it up to us.

"Then we set off with over 80 young people. A few times in the day, it began to sprinkle, 'i and then stopped. Right after we got inside of the restaurant that we had rented for the evening program, it started pouring down rain and rained all night long. We felt cared for!

"Here are two stories that we want to shan with you from yesterday. There was a boy that came in the morning, and he didn't know if he wanted to stay. He was really shy, so shy that he was even embarrassec to eat lunch with us, because he was embarrassed to eat in the presence of other people. However, by the end of the day, he had completely broke out of his shell. He opened up and was excitedly doing everything. He asked to come to church and wants to hear more about God. We were so excited to see the result of the day with him.

"The other story that we want to share is about a guy with only one leg. He came and was so excited and challenged to take part in the games. He was a huge encouragement and challenge to the team that he was in. They were able to create more team spirit because of having him there".

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!

The Arafura Games take place in Darwin every two years. The nations surrounding the Arafura Sea participate in the Games, which have a i vision to promote emerging athletes in the Asia Pacific region. Over 3000 athletes from 36 nations converged on Darwin in May to compete in a friendly, if hot and humid atmosphere.

Fusion was invited by the Games organisers to run an Open Crowd Festival for 3000 athletes during the Opening Night Ceremony, bringing a touch of Aussie hospitality and friendliness. Following this, over a period of two weeks, a group of around 90 volunteers ran eight festivals in and around Darwin, and worked in local high schools. Fusion staff and students, who had flown in from across the nation, trained local volunteers to connect with their local community and the visitors.

The response was so positive, Fusion has been asked to consider providing Festivals once more at the next Arafura Games in Darwin in 2009.

From Sydney North - the end of the Uluru Journey!

We had an open-mike session on the bus as we headed home, allowing people to say one last thing to the group, share their highlights and encourage each other. Gradually the bus got smaller as we dropped off people at Young, Yass, on the M4, and before we knew it, it was the Sydney North people left on the bus.

Back in Hornsby, we said our goodbyes, but knew that this wasn't the end of the journey. Many indicated they wanted to take our norms back with them to their homes and schools - "Build People Up, Help People Grow because People Matter"! Every single young person on that bus had indicated on a response form that they were interested in further programs - whether Talk'nTucker, Daytrips, Youth Foundations, next year's Pilgrimage, overseas opportunities or other options. So it's not at all over!"

DO you want to join us?

Fusion is impacting communities ail over the world. Work as part of a world-wide team with Fusion in communities across the globe. These unique mission opportunities leave a lasting legacy as they equip communities to work for positive change.

You can be part of the story! Opportunities are opening for mission trips to Albania, Greece, Canada and more!

To find out more contact:
gfobal.oufreacli@fuslofi.org.au
Come and be part of changing the world!