Sudanese journey fully documented

By Shaun Inguanzo
DANDENONG’S Migrant Resource Centre (MRC) has launched a definitive document profiling the Sudanese communities and their cultures that have settled in Mebourne’s south-east.
The Sudanese profile document was compiled by the MRC’s planning and development manager, Bill Collopy and his team and launched this week at the MRC’s Dandenong office.
Mr Collopy said his team interviewed 39 people, including Sudanese refugees and their community leaders, as part of the mammoth eight-month task.
The document is available to anyone wanting to find out more about the various Sudanese communities and cultures arriving in Victoria.
But the MRC has targeted the document at local service providers.
“It will help service providers by giving them an improved understanding of the differences between the many Sudanese communities and their perceptions,” Mr Collopy said.
He said unlike other community profiles, the MRC aimed to make the information in the Sudanese document easier to read and understand.
“The Sudanese community isn’t one community, it’s several,” Mr Callopy said.
“It is a large group that has arrived in a short time, and though it is important for the audience that we give them a complete profile including facts and figures, we also needed to make it as current as we could.
“So we thought the best way of doing it was via interviews with a cross-section of people from different communities.
“That included elected leaders, youths, mothers and fathers, and both genders so that we had a good cross section of people from different tribal backgrounds.
“This provided a comprehensive picture without making the document difficult to use.”
The document launched on Tuesday and is available for $10 from the Migrant Resource Centre, Thomas Street, Dandenong.
Contact the MRC on 9706 8933 for more information.