Proud boost

By Rebecca Fraser
NOBLE Park residents and the local Sudanese community are set to benefit from a $50,000 injection from the Proud to Participate Community Building project.
June Dugina, Greater Dandenong’s director of community services, said she was delighted with the grant and the funds would now be spent on two projects.
“The funding will specifically focus on establishing a youth focused program to link youth to sporting and recreational bodies through the Noble Park Community Centre.
“This will also help form links between the Sudanese community and the Noble Park community,” she said.
Ms Dugina said a women’s family support group would also be set up within the Sudanese community.
“We are hoping to run this program through the Paddy O’Donoghue centre that will open in Noble Park early next year.
“That way we can link the program into other services such as maternal health and children’s services that will be available there,” she said.
Greater Dandenong council said Noble Park was chosen as the focus of the project because it was one of the most socially and ethnically diverse areas in Melbourne.
Of the people who live in the area, half of the local residents were born overseas, 14 per cent have limited fluency in English and experience social isolation due to low socioeconomic circumstances.
Ms Dugina said the Proud to Participate project had already brought many benefits to the Noble Park community.
She added that many community groups had expressed the need to address issues within the Sudanese community and the Proud to Participate project would bring the diverse community together to tackle priority issues in the community.
“A number of community groups, the drug action committee and the former reference group tied to the Proud to Participate Program identified the Sudanese as an area in need.
“We are thrilled the Victorian Government is committed to improving the wellbeing of individuals, families and communities,” she said.
Established in 2002, Proud to Participate was one of the Victorian Government’s 10 Community Building Demonstration projects, under the auspices by the City of Greater Dandenong.