Covid-19 testing in Sydney has gone into meltdown over recent weeks with NSW Police having to turn patrons away from testing sites and employ traffic control tactics to manage the hundreds of people queuing for a Covid-19 test throughout the Sydney metropolitan area.
Community members are faced with untenable circumstances where they may be ill however cannot see a Doctor without a negative Covid-19 test. Others, who require testing for work have also been compromised and have had their incomes held to ransom by the backlog in testing.
Many who have been tested have also been sidelined from their workplaces and daily lives due to a backlog in processing and have had to wait up to a week for results.
Further pressure was put on the community when it was announced that both public and private testing facilities would be closing en masse or heavily reducing their opening hours in response to changes in health guidelines.
The last line of defense was to be home testing, which through the availability of Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) kits, community members could test at home. This however was a futile option for most as stockists sold out very quickly and started displaying signs regarding the unavailability of the take home tests. Other vendors resorted to price gouging which effectively locked out low income earners.
GIA Network President and Italian expat, Domenico Stefanelli explained how the idea for the provision of the RAT kits came about. “The rapid antigen tests came at the end of November when we realised that covid is an issue and we had to do something about it, so that people could go back to their normal life.
One of those problems was how we were going to get the tests. Another problem was the masks. We worried about masks in the beginning, because shops were running out” Mr Stefanelli said.
With so many affected by the pandemic and with their livelihoods at risk, the GIA Network (Giovani Italiani Australiani Network), with volunteers from The St. Fiacre’s Parish Leichhardt Youth Group were able to obtain and distribute Rapid Antigen Test Kits to those in need in the community.
The volunteers set up a booth at St. Fiacre’s Parish grounds in Catherine Street, Leichhardt and in one morning, distributed over 300 RAT kits to community members in need.
The current Covid-19 conditions in Sydney are having a major impact on young Italians on temporary visas living in Sydney, who are often employed in the struggling hospitality and event industries. In response, GIA has worked to raise and distribute emergency funds to the Italian community throughout Australia with assistance from The Father Antanasio Gonelli Charitable Fund and the support of Multicultural NSW.
GIA has also supplied provisions of food and medicine and provided transport to those who had lost their jobs during the NSW lockdown. Their biggest achievement to date, perhaps, was in raising over $110,000 from a radiothon in concert with Victorian compatriots NOMIT. The fundraiser served to aid young Italians with temporary visas stranded in Australia due to COVID-19, who had no family support, no work and no income.
GIA has also been responsible for a myriad of charitable works including their participation in the ‘Bay Walk’, raising money for the Father Antanasio Charitable Fund, hosting networking events and supporting cultural immersion events.
Mr Stefanelli became involved with GIA in 2020 having been “amazed at how the Italian community sticks together and helps each other.”
He is familiar with the plight of many young Italians who, he said, “Come to Australia to visit famous places such as Bondi and Manly with the idea of learning or improving their English language skills and having new experiences”. After several years of residing in Australia, Mr. Stefanelli realised his passion to assist other young Italians establish themselves in Australia, which resulted in his association with GIA.
“I didn’t want them to go through the same challenges that I had experienced” Mr. Stefanelli said.
Prior to the pandemic, Mr Stefanelli had met the other founding members of GIA through St Fiacre’s Church and had consequently been invited to a charity lunch where the news of the pandemic was still breaking. The group became concerned for the Italian community and decided to take action, which is how GIA was formed.
“One of our purposes is to try and connect the dots between the Italians who just arrived here, Italians who have been here for ten years and Italo-Australians who were born here and raised here”.
Mr. Stefanelli believes many Italians have lost faith in their community. He believes that GIA can build trust with Italians by working with individuals and groups to help build the Italian community. “My vision is to have a GIA in each country” Mr Stefanelli declared.
“We are a very strong team and we work together to exchange ideas. They are still ideas but at the end of the day they are really thoughtful and helpful for the Italian community”.
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