Albanians look to build their future

A BIGGER stadium, a new aged care facility and a central welfare organisation are on the cards for Dandenong South’s growing Albanian community.
Community leaders met with VicUrban, Greater Dandenong Council and State Government representatives last week to discuss future facilities in Dandenong South which would accommodate the 4000-strong community, much akin to its neighbouring Russian community, which has an exclusive welfare body and aged care home.
Dandenong MP John Pandazopoulos this week said the Albanian community was large in Dandenong South but neither Greater Dandenong Council nor the State Government understood its needs.
“Council has no long-term strategic vision about the site,” he said.
Mr Pandazopoulos said VicUrban attended the meeting to address the community’s concerns about availability of land in Dandenong South as major projects began encroaching on open space.
“Ideas that were thrown around included can you swap VicUrban open space near Kirkham Road with George Andrews Reserve for a larger soccer ground, because the new Dandenong Southern Bypass constrains the current site,” he said.
Mr Pandazopoulos said any suggestions were purely speculative and that the community, in conjunction with the council, was likely to apply for a Community Support Grant from the State Government which would fund research into the area’s needs to map out future growth.
“If we do that then it allows for a lot of community consultation in a short period of time,” Mr Pandazopoulos said.
Dandenong Ward councillor Jim Memeti said other issues such as the community’s ageing population and the number of Albanian-descent students who dropped out of high school were discussed.
“It is very common to have average school leavers of year nine or 10,” he said.
“A lot from the Albanian community go and work for the family business, and that’s not a bad thing to do, but I feel we should let them complete secondary school first.”
Cr Memeti said the community had no central welfare agency to speak for and to provide support on behalf of its members.
Mr Pandazopoulos said a further meeting to discuss the support grant would take place in coming weeks.