The Sydney Chinese Child Care and Community Co-operative Society (later became CASS) was formally established on 8 March 1981 at the Surry Hills Neighbourhood Centre. 9 members were elected to form the Board of Directors, with Henry as the Chairperson.
It was already 3 months since the submission of the funding application to the Federal and State Governments, and nothing was heard from the authorities. Henry did phone the authorities to enquire about the progress of the submission, and the reply was, “The submission was well written. It is still under consideration.”
Everyone was very anxious. Henry further contacted the organisation that had helped with the submission earlier, the Ethnic Child Care Development Unit, to try to find out more about why there was a lack of feedback from the authorities.
In early 1980s, the domestic economy of Australia was in poor conditions, and the Federal Government was reducing expenditure on welfare. Meanwhile, due to the short history of the Society, the Government lacked confidence in the group’s management ability to administer funding.
It was thus necessary for the Society to prove to the Government that it had influence in the Chinese community to gain the trust of the authorities. Henry and Board Members took action to organise events to assist the Project.
Many Board Members had experience organising activities during their university days. They decided to organise celebrations during traditional festivals. On the one hand, they could prove to the Government that the Society had the ability to organise activities. On the other hand, they could collect fees to raise revenue for the running costs of the Society.
Enthusiastic Board Members and volunteers worked together to plan the activities. There were no Chinese newspapers at the time. The main channel for promotion was distribution of flyers or through words of mouth. The Chinese Youth League of Australia (CYL) provided a much needed helping hand at the time, helping with typing and printing the flyers.
Some Board Members and volunteers prepared food at home and brought them to the venue. Some volunteers planned and performed the singing and dancing acts. The Lunar New Year celebration was full of excitement with over 200 people attending the event. It also raised around $200 to $300, and the result was encouraging.
At the same time, Henry also took on an important task. He paid visits to leaders of various Chinese organisations, seeking their consent to sign a Support Letter. Through friends of some Board Members, they managed to contact a number of leaders of established Chinese organisations, including Hainanese Association of NSW Inc., Chung San Society of Australia, the Chinese Masonic Society and the Chinese Youth League of Australia. Henry and Board Members met those leaders and put forward the intentions of the Society. Most leaders were very supportive of the establishment of a child care service, however, there were a few organisations not rendering support.
By March 1982, A year had passed and there was no news on government funding. The situation was not optimistic. At the Board meeting, members were faced with a serious question: there seemed no hope for getting government funding!
Should the Society be disbanded? Or should they continue to pursue their original goal? What is the path ahead? Stay tune for the next article.
