First Peoples and most recent people connect over traditional food

Listening changes minds and sharing personal stories changes hearts. That’s what’s happening around our dinner tables!

Two incredibly beautiful and powerful Welcome Dinners (actually a brunch!) took place for Harmony Week in March 2016. The first gathering brought together elders from Wyanga Aboriginal Seniors Group and the Alleena multicultural seniors group, with newly arrived young adults, in a spirit of harmony. The second gathering was in Mt Druitt (Western Sydney) bringing together women from the Baabayn (Ancestral women) Elder’s group with local high-school students who are new to Australia.

This quote from Baabayn’s recent newsletter perfectly sums up what was happening on the day:

“Most of us have been torn from our roots, have lost our ancestral dreamings. A new dreaming shared by all lies ahead of us. Our present can no longer be shaped by the divisive past, but by the uniting future.”

Thanks a million to Redfern Community Centre, Wyanga Aboriginal Seniors Group, Alleena Multicultural seniors group, Newcastle University (city campus), Baabayn, Partners for Change, Parramatta MRC, Holroyd IEC, and Chifley College for being part of and supporting these momentous occasions.