By Brendan Rees
Community group leaders were recognised for their contribution in making stronger communities during a forum held on Tuesday 26 June.
Southern Migrant and Refugee Centre (SMRC) hosted an Ethnic Seniors Leadership Forum where attendees were presented with an award certificate for their services to the community.
The event was an opportunity for people to enjoy capacity building workshops on the changes in aged care including, accessing aged care services through My Aged Care, Centrelink, Power of Attorneys, community legal assistance.
Deputy Mayor of the City of Casey Amanda Stapledon and Marion Lau, Secretary of the ECCV presented awards to 26 senior clubs.
Now in its sixth year, special guests also included representatives from Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria (ECCV) and councillors from City of Greater Dandenong.
The event also featured pop up stalls represented by City of Greater Dandenong, City of Casey, YMCA, Centrelink, Office of Public Advocate, Monash Health , Peninsula Legal Community Centre , Housing for the Aged Action Group and ECCV.
A world food fare luncheon and entertainment was provided by the Cook Islander Seniors Group was provided to the 80 attendees.
“As we celebrate our Silver Jubilee Year, we are proud to recognise the importance of positive aging and empowering our community to feel resilient in dealing with many changes happening around them,” said chief executive of SMRC Ramesh Kumar,
Southern Migrant and Refugee Acting Team Leader Centre Jennifer Dunne said it was an entertaining day with musical performances by the Kuki Airani Pa Metua Club, and dancing by the Vietnamese Catholic Family Mutual Assistance Network and Que Huong Vietnamese Senior Group, as well as a role play about accessing My Aged Care.
“It was a successful event with positive feedback and those senior who attended were appreciative that their work had been honoured,” she said.
