Articles by: Debra Vermeer

Country town rolls out the welcome mat for refugee family

Sister Gerri Boylan SGS has joined a refugee support group in regional Victoria which is helping to resettle a family from Burundi in a country-town collaboration of hospitality and compassion.

Posted on: September 18, 2024

Scholarship Program provides a pathway to lifelong learning

The Good Samaritan Foundation is helping senior high school students who are doing it tough to continue their education and receive hope and empowerment through a High School Scholarship Program.

Posted on: September 18, 2024

Good Samaritan Inn receives funding to expand crisis accommodation

The Good Samaritan Inn in Melbourne has received a federal grant that will allow it to build 12 new units to provide accommodation for women and children escaping family violence.

Posted on: August 21, 2024

Workplace Learning Program supports students to be job ready

Assisting in the electorate office of Greg Warren MP has been a happy and valuable experience for Charlotte, a student in Year 11 at Mater Dei School, writes Debra Vermeer.

Posted on: August 21, 2024

Good Samaritan Outreach Center celebrates 10th anniversary

The Good Samaritan Outreach Center in Bacolod, a ministry working with poor families in the Philippines, has celebrated its 10th birthday in characteristic joyful fashion: with hospitality, prayer and community.

Posted on: August 21, 2024

Call for royal commission into immigration detention policies

The Good Samaritan Refugee and Asylum Seeker Network held an online conference to mark Refugee Week, with presenter Julie Macken outlining the case for a royal commission into immigration detention.

Posted on: July 17, 2024

New book aims to recover the missing life and voice of St Scholastica

A new book by Good Samaritan Sister Carmel Posa uses the ancient method of hagiography to recover the missing life and voice of St Scholastica of Nursia, writes Debra Vermeer.

Posted on: July 15, 2024

Good Samaritan Sr Juniko Toaua makes her Perpetual Profession

There were joyful celebrations in the Pacific island nation of Kiribati earlier this month when Sister Juniko Toaua SGS made her Perpetual Profession as a Sister of the Good Samaritan.

Posted on: June 19, 2024

Spiritual direction and mentoring are key elements of SAM Program

Participants in the Good Samaritan Study and Mentoring (SAM) Program said among the reasons they were drawn to apply was the opportunity to receive both spiritual direction and professional mentoring.

Posted on: June 19, 2024

The Good Oil Writers’ Workshop encourages and inspires

A room full of readers, writers and word-lovers came together in Sydney last month for The Good Oil Writers’ Workshop, where they explored the theme, Words Matter, writes Debra Vermeer.

Posted on: June 19, 2024

Kinder School in Bacolod celebrates 20th anniversary

The Good Samaritan Kinder School in Bacolod, the Philippines, established by the Sisters of the Good Samaritan to serve poor families of the squatter district, has celebrated its 20th anniversary.

Posted on: May 15, 2024

Author Michael McGirr brings his experience to Writers' Workshop

For author Michael McGirr, writing has always been an integral part of his life. “Writing is very close to my spiritual practice, and always has been,” he tells Debra Vermeer.

Posted on: May 9, 2024