A SHORT HISTORY

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We had this idea of organising Iranian parties, serving amazing Iranian cuisine and raising some money to help children affected by child labour. We thought these children were the most vulnerable people in Iran because they are not able to escape their miserable situtation without help.

 

We believed we need to focus on their education because it is the only way that could break the loop of illiteracy and poverty.

 

We arranged our first party on September 1st, 2012. We were able to raise about $1000 - $1500 per party and send every dollar to Iran.

 

The parties have been happening every two months and we have made sure we invite different people to spread the word. Initially we started helping the Kousha Organisation since we knew this organisation was very active helping disadvantaged children in the south of Tehran (http://kousha.org).

 

Eventually we realised we can direct our help to more disadvantaged centres like orphanges, centres caring for disabled children or even schools in remote areas. One group of children in need of particular help are the Afghan refugees in Iran who do not have access to basic education.

 

So, we started asking our relatives and friends to be our links and to find disadvantaged children in Iran. We always made sure the money raised was spent on children's education.

 

Late last year, we realised that we have to register our foundation in order to become more financially active and to attract more funding. We decided upon the name of our organisation 'Yarra Foundation for Disadvantaged Children's Education' because the word 'Yara' in Persian (یــارا) means a combination of kind, helpful and benevolent. The similarity of this word and the name of the Yarra river that runs across Melbourne naturally led us to pick this name for our organisation. You'll find that all Persian speakers pronounce Yarra as 'Yara' anyway!

Ask the next Persian speaker and you will see they read this out for you: "Yarra Foundation For Disadvantaged Children's Education Inc."

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We are proud to say that we are all volunteers and that every single dollar raised is spending for the children.

 

 

Yarra foundation is registered as a charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) 

ABN [85168357033]