Good afternoon @haveyoubeenhere peeps I thought I'd pop down an awesome place out in the inner west of Melbourne and share with you a successful project I launched to combat racism within the community.
But first a bit about the West Footscray Neighbourhood House, established in the 1990s it was the first community centre in this part of Melbourne's West. It was originally a women's group established to advance the rights and wellbeing of women. Providing respite and support the all women led initiative morphed into a fully fledged community centre to support the broader community.
The area in which the WFNH resided has seen growth in migration centred around people arriving from the subcontinent or known as India. There has been an increase in fantastic community assets such as eateries, cultural engagements and all round becoming the subcontinent area if the West. Although, Wyndham further out west has now claimed this position.
In the early years of arrival there was an increase in racism leading to Indian heritaged peoples being attacked and robbed including racial slurs and attacks. This caused a significant amount of community angst and disenfranchising. I set to work, being enlisted by the WFNH to develop a way to include and advance social cohesion of the subcontinent and the broader community.
I spent time researching, engaging and planning with local traders, residents and community groups. Where we came up with hosting an annual celebration that enriched the community and provide cultural connection from people who had left India and arrived in Australia.
We implement the Holi Festival of colours centred around the subcontinent special celebration of light over coming darkness, good triumphing over evil.
The event was a HUGE success filled with traditional subcontinent cultural significance including food, dance, fun and throwing of colours! Unfortunately this led to an unrest with some sects of the community engaging in racial attacks in form of graffiti. But the community that had been growing and establishing took to the streets and scrubbed the graffiti off themselves.
The event has now successfully run for 6 years and was brought up in parliament as an Australian success story, how a community down on their luck at the forefront of racial attacks was able to engage and build bridges and turn it around into a whole community celebration.
I established the project with the intention of handing it over to the community, which I did. I still attend annually and smile at how big this event has grown. Other areas have also followed suite and developed their own events and it continues to make Australia a better place.
This is one of my social projects I volunteer my time, expertise and at times money to get up and running to build a better country. I need no recognition as I smile in the fact that it was successful and I have played my role in building a better future for our children and our children's children.