Not even a broken down bus stopped more than 100 Dandenong refugees from sharing a multi-cultural picnic at the beach.
They attend programs run at the CatholicCare Dandenong office and together travelled to a park overlooking the Sorrento back beach to share and celebrate their diversity.
Picnic blankets held Afghan bread and cakes, Indian spicy potato dishes, Somalian delicacies and more.
“We were born in India and moved to Kenya when we got married,” one woman said.
“We never felt we belonged there.
“We shared meals with our neighbours and were social with many communities. But when it came to celebration days, we were always left out.
“In Kenya we weren’t Kenyan enough to be included. We found the same in New Zealand, where we were neither accepted by the Indian or the Kenyan community on these special days.
“In Australia and with CatholicCare, days like today make us feel like we belong to a new and wider community. Where our background is celebrated and brings us together.”
A mother and daughter shared their first boat journey together on the Sorrento to Queenscliff ferry.
“Mum and I have shared many adventures and it is wonderful to share this special day with her and many others from our community,” the daughter said.
CatholicCare assisted more than 1200 refugees through its refugee and asylum seeker programs last year, helping families to settle as they start new lives in Australia.
