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Friends of The Water Well Project - Quarterly update, October 2021
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Welcome to The Water Well Project's quarterly newsletter.

 The Water Well Project is a health promotion not-for-profit with a purpose to promote good health and wellbeing to communities from migrant, refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds by improving their health literacy.

We work with community groups to deliver interactive and inclusive health education sessions facilitated by volunteer healthcare professionals. 
The Water Well Project has had a very busy few months as we leave lockdown behind us and emerge from our homes ready to enjoy the warmer months ahead with family and friends.

There is lots to celebrate with a record-breaking month in October as we delivered 30 health education sessions to community groups from migrant, refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds across New South Wales, Tasmania and Victoria. Thank you to all our wonderful volunteer healthcare professionals for donating your time to facilitate these sessions.
 
The following evaluation data represents the positive impact of our health education sessions during the past month:

1. Improved knowledge of community participants on relevant health topics:
  • 96% agreed that they learned something new from the session they attended
2. Improved confidence in accessing and navigating appropriate health care services:
  • Everyone (100%) agreed that they would feel confident sharing the information from the session with friends and family
  • Everyone (100%) agreed that they feel confident about seeking further information on the topic if needed
  • 96% agreed that the session improved their ability to seek medical advice if required 
3. Improved confidence in COVID vaccination process:
  • 81% agreed that their confidence in COVID vaccination process has increased after attending the session
These are wonderful results to achieve during October which is globally recognised as Health Literacy Month! Our health education sessions can start a ripple effect to improve the health literacy of communities from migrant, refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds as everyone in Australia deserves equitable access to healthcare.

Thank you to you all for your ongoing support of The Water Well Project,
Dr Linny Kimly Phuong, Founder & Director
Suzie Bratuskins, Executive Officer
In this reporting quarter, we facilitated 51 health education sessions and reached 3008 community participants from migrant, refugee, and asylum seeker backgrounds, with flow-on effects to families and friends.
 
Our most requested session topics over the last quarter have been:
  1. Navigating the Australian Healthcare System
  2. COVID-19 and Vaccines
  3. Mental Health
  4. Allergies
  5. Dental Hygiene
Find out more about booking an interactive health education session for your community here.
Our team is growing

In August, we were able to expand our staff team to secure some incredible new people who are committed to improving health literacy in communities of migrant, refugee, and asylum seeker backgrounds.

Our inaugural Executive Officer is Suzie Bratuskins, a pharmacist who is passionate about making a difference to people’s lives. With over 25 years of experience in healthcare, Suzie truly understands the nuances of the health industry, how to build advocacy and drive awareness to make an impact. She is an experienced not-for-profit leader with a strong belief in the value of volunteering to create positive change.

In addition to Suzie, we have also welcomed two Health Educators (Monika & Allara) to support our volunteers and a Research & Evaluations Officer (Suborna) to meausre our impact on health literacy. They join our Project Administrator (Monique) and Development Coordinator (Mikaela). Our team is hard at work behind the scenes to make all of our sessions possible!
The Water Well Project goes LIVE

In September, 713 participants joined us online for a Facebook Live COVID-19 and Vaccines session! 🎉 We covered topics including COVID-19 vaccines in children and pregnant women, accessibility of vaccines, and self-care during difficult lockdown periods. A big thanks to Gawad Kalinga Australia and our awesome volunteers who helped make this happen.

If you missed it, or you're just curious to see what we do in action, check out the session here.
Everyone has COVID-19 vaccine questions

To date, we have run 92 health education sessions about the COVID-19 vaccines. All our sessions are interactive and we love the opportunity to hear people's concerns. An informal discussion with a qualified healthcare professional is the perfect opportunity to ask any questions you may have. In the past quarter, these are some of the common questions we have been asked:

When will lockdown end?
Can anyone mix vaccines?
Will I ever get Covid if I have been vaccinated?
Are blood clots associated with Pfizer?
How do we protect children under 5 years old from COVID if they’re not going to be vaccinated yet?
How long does protection from the vaccine last?
How can we persuade friends and family members who are opposed to vaccines to change their minds?
Is the COVID-19 vaccine safe for the foetus? Depending on trimesters, can there be an effect on the developmental growth of the foetus?
Do we have to get vaccinated every year from COVID?
Which vaccine is best?
Do we have to get a booster vaccine? Why?
I have my second dose coming up and I am scared that everyone says the side effects are worse with the second one.
 Which vaccine is safest? Which vaccine is the best?
What is the difference between Moderna and Pfizer?
 
These are all perfectly understandable questions, and we love the opportunity to answer them with the most up-to-date health advice. If you are hearing similar questions and would like to organise a session for your community, follow this link to get in touch with us.
Cheers to being HESTA Excellence Awards finalists!

In August, The Water Well Project was proud and honoured to be a finalist of 2021 HESTA Excellence Awards. Congratulations to the winner of Outstanding Organisation (Community Services) - Sacred Heart Mission. It was a wonderful online event and a great opportunity to celebrate the outstanding organisations in the health sector.

Click here to read more about the 2021 HESTA Excellence Awards and all the finalists.
Testimonials

We are so grateful to our community for their ongoing feedback about our sessions. Thank you to one of our community partners for this testimonial about a COVID-19 and Vaccines session:
 
“The presenters were very knowledgeable in the area of COVID-19 vaccines. They were patient responding to questions raised by the attendees. In comparison to the vaccine sessions that I have attended in the past, this was the one where I felt comfortable to ask questions and felt like they were comprehensively responded to."
YOU CAN SUPPORT OUR WORK
All donations come directly to The Water Well Project to help us to provide free, interactive health education sessions to communities from migrant, refugee, and asylum seeker backgrounds. 

Even the smallest donation can make a huge difference, and we cannot thank you enough for supporting our work.
Copyright © 2021 The Water Well Project, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
The Water Well Project,
P.O. Box 6218, Vermont South,
Victoria, Australia 3133

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