Sharing some of the good things from the past: Lessons from developing an African communities fun day with African community leaders in a rural town

Wagga Wagga, a rural town in NSW has become the home of people from a number of African communities, predominantly South Sudanese, and smaller numbers of Burundians, Sierra Leonians, Liberians, as well as other people of... [ view full abstract ]

Wagga Wagga, a rural town in NSW has become the home of people from a number of African communities, predominantly South Sudanese, and smaller numbers of Burundians, Sierra Leonians, Liberians, as well as other people of African origin. The majority of Africans have a refugee background and have come as humanitarian settlers to Wagga, while others have joined family, and a minority have come as skilled migrants. The Community organisation WAfrica is the community organisation for all the Wagga African communities.
This presentation is a case study of the collaborative process involved in running the first Africa Family Fun Day in Wagga for the broad African community including children and adults. Aspects of refugee trauma addressed by the project included increasing trust bonds disrupted by systematic violence and providing a focus on safe past memories. The project very successfully increased social cohesion within the diverse African Communities, and facilitated focus on fun experiences linked to the past, by providing participatory workshops on traditional African child’s toy making and games along with the sharing of diverse African food from the different communities. The project was evaluated by attendance and participation on the day as well as verbal feedback opportunities and interest in future similar events being held.
The journey of STARTTS collaboration with WAfrica to plan and run ‘Africa Family Fun Day’ in 2015 and the lessons learnt is the focus of this presentation. The presentation includes a film of the day. Issues of tensions, enablers and barriers around expectations, ownership, meaning of collaboration, process and outcomes are examined in relation to this community development project. Strategies to address difficulties and limitations are highlighted to assist future programs. The case study findings will provide insights that will be worth considering in the planning and implementation process of similar projects.