By Casey Neill
New South Wales students found a taste of the world in Greater Dandenong.
Galen Catholic College in Wangaratta took a Greater Dandenong Interfaith Network Places of Worship Tour for during a three-day immersion camp in Melbourne.
The network’s development officer Helen Heath said deputy principal Genevieve O’Reilly wanted the 160 Year 11 students to experience different aspects of faith and culture.
She came across a story about the tour and got in touch.
On Thursday 27 April, the students were divided into four groups of about 40 and each took a different Places of Worship Tour.
Ms Heath said the mosques involved provided a morning tea typical of their culture, from Turkish delight to Bosnian sweet treats, and Keysborough’s Gurdwara Sri Guru Granth Sahib provided a vegetarian lunch for the whole group.
“This day of touring places of worship will be something that students living in country Victoria are rarely, if ever, exposed to and will, hopefully, provide them with an experience that greatly increases their understanding, knowledge and awareness of others who have different points of views to their own,” she said.
The Places of Worship Tours run every second month on a Wednesday.
There are tours on 14 June, 9 August, 11 October and 13 December.
Tours depart from the Interfaith Network office at 39 Clow Street, Dandenong, and cost $25.
Visit www.interfaithnetwrok.org.au or call 8774 7662 for more information.
