User:Indigenousindio

INDIO stands for INDIGENOUS NATIONALS DEVELOPMENT AND INTEGRATION ORGANIZATION. It is a non-profit charity and advocacy organization based in South Australia. Its focus for its advocacy is on human rights and social justice. It was founded by Norma Hennessy in 2013, at the urging and support of other friends and colleagues. It operated initially as a social-media group of cause-minded Filipinos in the global diaspora. Since its inception, INDIO has conducted a range of projects targeting the socially isolated, economically marginalized, victims of natural disasters and the voiceless sector of the population.

The concept for INDIO emerged from a few like-minded individuals’ voluntary gestures of collecting in-kind donations from a few families and sending them off to isolated indigenous community groups in remote areas in the Philippines. During a number of calamities within and outside Australia, monetary and in-kind donations that were entrusted were remitted and sent to vulnerable institutions e.g. Red Cross, Caritas and Save the Children. It was in 2012, when the INDIO name was adopted for the group. Since then INDIO has been implementing outreach charity programs to distant locations in the Philippines where social exclusion and marginalization was deeply felt. In Australia, INDIO operated through volunteerism. Utilizing the social media and coordinating with other community or church groups, INDIO provided advocacy assistance and guidance to new settlers and other members of the ethnic community. INDIO’s volunteering efforts have been instrumental in alleviating the sense of alienation, isolation and helplessness of ethnic community members in circumstances such as death of family member, financial and job losses and other difficulties. We have been assisting cross sections of newly arrived settlers guiding them on resettlement matters.

In  November 2015, INDIO was restructured, from a volunteer group facilitator that connect benefactors to beneficiaries without engaging in financial transactions to a global community pro-active entity. It was registered for a public company status, with Norma Hennessy at the helm in order for it to expand its programs into developing and delivering workable responses to perceived needs of increasingly marginalized sectors of the local multicultural community. The status allowed INDIO management to develop effective community-responsive programs, focusing on peoples from non-English background. It also allowed for opportunities to apply for fund grants and assistance from the Australian government and stake holders for it to run programs towards its objectives.

In 2017, with the increasing need for a 'voice of advocacy' amongst global expatriate workers who are human rights victims INDIO shifted its focus in advocating for the rescue of abused Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in countries where there are no human rights policies such as those in the Middle East.

INDIO's advocacy drives run through a collective effort of a wide range of volunteer individuals and entities: other Filipino overseas workers and expatriates, people of other ethnicities and nationalities, support desks and volunteer groups. They all give freely of their time, expertise, knowledge, effort and attention. Some help come by way of incidental information from empathetic individuals.