It is the rich diversity of our clients, staff and volunteers that makes our community so special. We take pride in this every day, and that is why we enjoy sharing Harmony Day with our community members each year.
Harmony Day is held every year on 21 March to coincide with the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and celebrates Australia’s cultural diversity; it’s about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone.
This year, we chose to celebrate our diverse community through the sharing of food and we invited five different cultural groups to prepare a traditional recipe.
We were fortunate to have a beautiful sunny day which enabled us to hold the afternoon tea in the back garden of our East Reservoir centre. Over 50 people gathered to enjoy socialising and of course tasting the delicious dishes which included: Shirazi salad from Persia, Somalian bread, Pakistani Chai tea, Iraqi Moghrabieh (a chickpea and cous cous dish) and a Kurdish date sweet.
DCH dietician, Ju-Lin and Health Promotion Officer, Rosamaria provided guests with information about healthy eating and had food guides from other countries to compare with the Australian healthy food pyramid.
This year we had representatives from a number of external agencies also attending as guests including the Mayor of Darebin, Darebin City Council, Red Cross, and Northland and Jason, our volunteer professional photographer took some wonderful photos to capture the day.
A local resident also painted traditional henna designs on people’s hands. It is thought that the art of henna has been practiced for over 5000 years in many countries including Pakistan, India, Egypt and the Middle East! It is easy to see why these beautiful decorative patterns are worn on special occasions and celebrations – and Harmony Day was the perfect reason to celebrate!
Thanks to everyone who came along. If you couldn’t make we hope you can join us next year!