Daniel Hulme MP - Working for you in Franklin

[6.00 p.m.]

I rise tonight to pay tribute to two of my constituents, Kate Rayment and Ben Cashman of Bellerive, who on Thursday last week left Tasmania to engage in a series of aid and development projects throughout the continent of Africa. Ben Cashman works as an IT consultant and Kate Rayment has recently graduated with first-class honours in business and law. While Kate has received a job offer with a law firm in Melbourne, she has chosen to defer that offer for a year to accommodate the trip to Africa.

If there were any continents with countries in dire need of international development assistance then Africa certainly tops the list. Africa for many years has had the worst experience of poverty and disadvantage. In 2006, 34 of the 50 nations on the UN list of least-developed countries were in Africa. Africa is also where most of the armed conflicts occur. It still has the highest prevalence of HIV infection, malaria and water-borne diseases.

Kate and Ben will be working on three development assistance programs during their seven-month trip. The first is the women's handicraft support program in Kenya and is organised by GAPS Australia. This is a micro-finance project that assists women with grants to start their own businesses making and selling handcrafts and helps them identify markets for their products. Volunteers help by meeting with potential participants, identifying their capabilities and compiling a database to attract Australian industry buyers.

Kate and Ben will then be working in Uganda with the Rohanga Community Development Network. The RCDN was formed in 2007 by three villages in south-west Uganda and supports local communities to initiate education projects and small businesses. The network's aim is to improve the quality of life and eradicate poverty for village residents.

The final project Kate and Ben will be supporting is the Back to School Foundation in Monkey Bay, Malawi. The Back to School Foundation was founded by a German woman, Birgit Albers, and supports Malawian students through secondary school in the city once they have completed primary education in their local village. Kate and Ben made contact with Mrs Albers through an old high school friend. They will be helping at the local orphanage, building community structures such as wells and houses and helping teachers at the Monkey Bay Primary School.

They have done all their own fundraising to support their seven-month trip through letters to potential sponsors, organising a variety of events including a barbecue at Bellerive Beach and African arts performances. Kate and Ben have raised more than $3,000. I note that among their long list of sponsors are the Premier, the Deputy Premier and the Federal member for Franklin, Julie Collins. If any other members wish to contact Kate and Ben and offer a donation, I will be happy to help facilitate that contact.

I also encourage members to follow Kate and Ben's progress as they travel through Africa, which they can do online through their web site, www.kateandbeninafrica.com. Kate and Ben's efforts in assisting people less fortunate than themselves is both selfless and commendable, as are the efforts of all volunteers involved in international development assistance. I wish them well in their endeavours. I hope they have a safe journey and I anticipate that they will get a great deal of satisfaction out of having such a significant and positive impact on the lives of others.