General News
23 June, 2025
Small town residents share big stories
Over 200 people gathered for Grampians Health Edenhope’s Cultural Fusion event ‘Small Town, Big Stories’ on Thursday, June 12, to celebrate cultural diversity and community spirit.
People of all ages, from kindergarten students to senior citizens, participated in the multicultural event at the Edenhope and District Community Centre.
African beads, embellished cultural portraits, Filipino Sarimanok birds, and Aboriginal flags were on display, all created by students from diverse cultural backgrounds.
Grampians Health executives travelled to the event from across the region, and their chief people officer, Claire Woods, said that the main reason for the event was to strengthen the bond between the community.
“Our hope, for Cultural Fusion, was to build connections and support for staff members who have come from across the globe to live and work in Edenhope,” she said.
“Those hopes were exceeded, with an overt display of acceptance and community in Edenhope.
“This is a special town and it was heartwarming to hear from our Edenhope team members, who feel embraced and supported by the community.”
Six Edenhope residents who featured in the ‘Small Town, Big Stories’ panel shared their experiences of migrating to Australia from Dubai, India, the Philippines and South Africa.
One of the panellists of the talk was enrolled Nurse Nausheen Hashmi, who was born in India, raised in Dubai, spent seven years in London and three years in Melbourne before moving to Edenhope.
“For me, home isn’t a location, it’s a feeling,” she said.
“It’s where my children laugh, where I can cook my mother’s biryani recipe, where I feel spiritually connected and emotionally safe.
Nurse unit managers Christian and Lady Anne Vidal described the heartbreaking decision to leave their four-month-old son in the Philippines to pursue career opportunities in Australia.
Meanwhile, the other manager, Jessah Ozon, shared her love story with husband Rezah, who was separated from her for four years due to COVID-19 restrictions.
The two couples also shared details of how they fell in love with the town and bought houses and businesses.
West Wimmera Shire Council chief executive David Bezuidenhout, who is originally from South Africa, shared his story of coming to Australia.
Garvit Jayee, 14, opened up about how differences in his culture and faith made it hard to fit in at Edenhope.
The panel was followed by a Filipino banquet lunch, live music from ‘The Filos’ band and traditional dancers from the Wimmera Filipino-Australia Club.
St Malachy’s primary school students, who spent weeks practising, also performed the traditional Filipino ‘Tinikling’ dance.
