General News
1 September, 2023
Multicultural Father's Day
Wimmera immigrants from various ethnic backgrounds will gather to celebrate Father’s Day tomorrow in Horsham. Oasis Wimmera, a multicultural community group, will host the celebration on Saturday at Horsham Neighbourhood House from 12.30pm to...
Wimmera immigrants from various ethnic backgrounds will gather to celebrate Father’s Day tomorrow in Horsham.
Oasis Wimmera, a multicultural community group, will host the celebration on Saturday at Horsham Neighbourhood House from 12.30pm to 3.30pm.
The group’s chairperson, Anubha Jalla Das, said she anticipated the event would draw a sizable turnout.
“I’m expecting a good crowd because we're planning to do it in Horsham Neighbourhood House as that’s the new office for Oasis members,” Ms Das said.
“We've kept some surprising games for the fathers.”
The Oasis Wimmera community group is a non-profit multicultural organisation that's supported by council's community grants.
It comprises between 100 and 120 multicultural families from various nations, including Turkey, China, the United Kingdom, Cambodia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Burma/Myanmar and Ukraine.
“The motive of Oasis Wimmera is to give support to the multicultural families,” Ms Das said.
“We do have other community groups also, but this has been specially designed for the multicultural families.
“There are around 60 to 70 very active families.
“They're very active with the community programs or whatever we organise.”
The group is currently running a community garden program to help local garden enthusiasts to grow vegetables.
“We have 10 to 12 garden beds,” Ms Das said.
“It’s a support, because usually in country towns you find people who have a big backyard who want to use the veggie patch to grow their own veggies.”
In the past the group has organised several events for immigrants that have attracted an impressive number of people.
Its last gathering, held in July, was "Taste of the World" and featured a Pakistani presenter who prepared a dessert that all participants enjoyed.
The club also hosted a Bollywood dance performance at this year's Wimmera Steampunk Festival in Dimboola and this October intends to resume its weekly badminton activity.
Ms Das said she encouraged all the region’s immigrants to come forward and join the Oasis Wimmera group via its Facebook page or by emailing oasis.wimmera@gmail.com.
"For anyone who's migrated from anywhere in the world, we're the support group Oasis Wimmera, so they can come along or email us for more details," she said.