Fusion International

Fusion International is an Australian-based Christian youth and community organisation which has the vision statement of "Bringing young people and communities together with hope".

Teams and centres

Fusion’s services focus on community building, finding a sense of purpose and a Christian values base. Fusion was founded in Australia by Mal Garvin, who retired in 2009 following allegations of sexual misconduct.[1][2] Fusion has over 200 staff and thousands of volunteers in 25 centres around Australia, and overseas work in the United Kingdom, Germany, Albania, Canada, Greece, India, Indonesia, South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana and the Caribbean.

Fusion's centres are established in response to research of local needs. In Australia this has led Fusion into outreach and support services such as drop-in centres and youth cafes, lunchtime programs in schools, accommodation and dwelling programs for youth and families, arts and crafts and social activities for isolated women, parenting programs for young single parents, mentoring and other special programs for teenagers who are not fitting into the school system, employment training schemes, outdoor education programs, community festivals designed to build connection in fragmented towns and suburbs, vocational rehabilitation, radio and print media and contributing to social policy development and action.

The village of Poatina, Tasmania, near Longford and about 70 km from Launceston is a community which blends together permanent residents, students and young people in need. Established as a tourist resort with a motel and restaurant at its heart, Poatina is also the international headquarters of Fusion and the main training centre.

Training programs

Fusion Australia Ltd is a Registered Training Organisation, providing nationally accredited training within the Australian Qualifications Framework. Fusion runs a Certificate IV in Youth and Community Work (Christian).

Fusion also trains educators to work in both first world and developing countries, developing community development skills to equip communities to be healthier. The intention of the community development programs is to work with local nationals and volunteers. The programs are designed to be transferable, reproducible and self-sustaining.

Fusion have established global networks which include specialists such as educators, engineers, heads of mainline churches and other professional practitioners in town planning, architecture and medicine.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/the-ultimate-betrayal-20100320-qnav.html "The Ultimate Betrayal", The Age, 21 March 2010
  2. ↑ http://www.3aw.com.au/blogs/blog-with-derryn-hinch/hinch-follows-up-on-mal-garvin/20100323-qtki.html

External links

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