The John Byrne Memorial (JBM) is an incorporated association governed by an executive committee of John’s family members, friends and colleagues from organisations and communities he supported and worked with. The JBM provides scholarships and financial assistance to support newly-arrived refugee and asylum seeker young people in the Western suburbs to succeed in their secondary and tertiary studi
es. Since 2008, the JBM has been providing scholarships to students from Maribyrnong College and Victoria University as both institutions are former places of John's employment and are based in the Western suburbs. The JBM also provides funding to assist disadvantaged students with the purchase of public transport tickets, which is being administered by the Western English Language Centre. The travel tickets have been important to those students who otherwise would not have been able to attend school. SCHOLARSHIPS CAN GO A LONG WAY
Our approach honours the legacy of John Byrne, who recognised the spirit and promise of refugees settling in the western suburbs. We believe there are three good reasons for us to continue John’s work:
1. Emerging communities need young leaders, and education gives them a voice. Many refugees arrive from countries where government and civil society have completely broken down, and need young leaders with skills and confidence as they start building a supportive community in Australia. Our scholarships help young people resist the financial pressures – to pay for books and equipment, and to work to support their families – that can draw them away from school and further education.
2. Migration turns families inside out, making support at school especially important. Even when families are not separated, the refugee experience jumbles family roles and responsibilities, leading to conflict and disruption. Secondary school can provide stability and support for students from refugee families, and the JBM scholarships help promising young people to achieve their full potential despite everything else that is happening in their lives.
3. Currently, the grant of two scholarships totalling $3,000 per year has been made to promising students studying in the western suburbs. This covers costs like books, uniforms and equipment – without which students could not participate (equally or at all) in their studies. In addition, funds have been allocated to assist disadvantaged students with educational related expenses, such as the purchase of public transport tickets. WHO WAS JOHN BYRNE? John Byrne grew up in the west of Melbourne in a large and loving family attending Corpus Christi Primary School in Kingsville and then secondary school with the Christian Brothers up the road in Yarraville. John left school early and went to work with the State Electricity Commission (SEC) for a couple of years before returning to study and then teaching Art and Ceramics at Maribyrnong Secondary College in 1977. In the aftermath of cancer, John's focus on healthy diet and exercise led him to study Physical Education and to take on a new role at the school whereby he engaged with a number of newly arrived students in an after school recreation program. At this time he developed his interest in refugee issues and the school subsequently appointed him to the position of Student Support Worker to assist newly arrived young people from Southeast Asia, East Timor, Central and South America. From 1986, John provided training, guidance and advice to workers and agencies that worked with Vietnamese-Australians, particularly the Vietnamese Community in Australia - Victoria Chapter. He volunteered time and expertise to assist in the development and implementation of innovative programs to meet the needs of Vietnamese-Australians, particularly young people. Following consultations with young people and service providers he documented the needs and issues of young Vietnamese-Australians in a 2002 report titled, '"Present Realities, Future Dreams": The Needs of Young Vietnamese-Australians', conveying a sense of optimism for the future of young Vietnamese-Australians. In 1999 John was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to travel to the United States of America, Canada, France and Vietnam to study the impact of illicit drugs on Vietnamese young people living in these four countries. In addition to this international research investigation, he also explored and documented the illicit drug industry in Vietnam and its impact on young people, families and community for the Victorian Department of Human Services. The findings of this investigation is documented in his report titled, 'Drug Culture in Vietnam: An Investigation into the Impact of the Illicit Drug Industry on Vietnamese Young People, Their Families and the Community, and How the Education, Health and Legal Systems are Responding to it' . John advocated for and actually demonstrated how schools and community welfare agencies could work together to support and improve the lives of young people. He set up the Western Region Cambodian Lao and Vietnamese (CLV) Young People's Support Group and the Link Program for newly arrived refugees at Maribyrnong Secondary College. He also founded the CLV Youth Accommodation Service and was chairperson of the Ethnic Youth Issues Network for over 5 years before helping to create the Centre for Multicultural Youth in 2000. John was the early founder of the welfare work for refugees in school model, the basis for transition programs for students today. In 2002 John engaged in a PhD study at the Australian Catholic University in partnership with Mary of the Cross Centre, a service of CatholicCare Melbourne. The topic of his PhD was 'Support for Vietnamese Families of Illicit Drug Users'. John conducted extensive interviews with family members from five Vietnamese families living with drug use and professional staff from five support agencies. In addition to producing a scholarly work exploring the factors underlying illicit drug use in his research subjects, John was insistent that there be recommendations from the study leading to improved support for such family members. John was unable to complete his PhD study due to his unexpected death on the 12th of July 2005. However his close friend, Dr. Maree Pardy, completed his thesis by turning it into a report that is titled, '"It's Like a Piece of You is Missing": Support Needs of Vietnamese Families of Drug Users', which was launched at the JBM Lecture in 2008. JBM Scholarship recipients at Maribyrnong Secondary College
2008: Arbenita Qorri
2009: Kafiya Abdullahi
2010: Halla Abdullahi
2011: Esther Ting Paw
2011: Bassel Tallal (inaugural John Byrne Spirit Award)
2012: Leroy Kandea
2013: Hiep Do
2014: Helen Hagos
2015: Edona Qorri
2016: David Ma
2017: Tinsae Kibor
2018: Junior Mabia
2019: Tesfakiros (Tesfa) Mesele
2020: Shabir Sawiz
2021: Honey Nazari
2022: Shayna Rahmani Moorchekhorti
JBM SCHOLARSHIP recipients at Victoria University
2008: Wol Akec Wol
2009: Tha Gay Aung
2010: Sher Gay Moon Khin Yin
2012: Amanuel Abraham
2013: Ak Derya
2014: Tha Moo
2015: Sylvie Musabi
2016: Zahra Hasani
2017: Nyahol Bol
2018: Yijin Zhang
2019: Sung Len
2020: Setareh Hakimjavadi
2021: Rozhan Kooshi
2022: Betia Shakiba & Hossein Maleki
