Sister Rita Malavisi is turning her annual run in support of asylum seekers and refugees into a real habit.
Planning her seventh straight Run 4 Refugees as part of next month’s Melbourne Marathon, the ‘Nun on the Run’ is also raising funds for Footscray’s Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC).
Sister Rita said she wanted to highlight the plight of asylum seekers who are not being welcomed into the community.
“We need to stand in solidarity with those who are marginalised,” she said. “What needs to change is getting people out of detention and bringing an end to mandatory detention.”
Sister Rita has volunteered with the ASRC since it first opened its doors in Footscray in 2001.
The Catholic nun makes weekly visits to asylum seekers in detention and volunteers her time at the centre’s new Home of Hope every Thursday.
The ASRC provides direct aid, advocacy and health services for asylum seekers in Australia.
“I’m a daughter of immigrants myself, like Mary MacKillop was,” Sister Rita said. “My parents came by boat in the 1950s from Italian and Arabic roots.”
The Melbourne Marathon is her way of spreading the message, with her ‘Nun on the Run’ shirt rarely failing to catch attention.
“They are trying to change my tag to ‘Sister with a Blister’, but I’m not moving,” she said.
