Bellydancer Zabelle, front, with Rhonda Chegwidden, Iman Allaf, Evy Yannas playing the darabouka, George Tzalabiras with the bouzouki, and Coral Annabel. Picture: Meagan Rogers.
By Paul Dunlop
PAKENHAM’S growing multicultural population has been targeted by community service providers concerned that many newer residents are missing out on home help.
MECWA Cardinia Care, which provides Home and Community Care (HACC) services in the town, has formed a partnership with the South Eastern Region Migrant Resource Centre to promote the use of its services to an increasingly diverse community.
The partnership was borne out of concerns that older migrants were not accessing HACC services, which help frail, elderly and people with a disability to remain independently in their own home.
The State Government has also backed the Culturally Equitable Gateways Strategy (CEGS), which aims to increase the use of HACC services such as inhome support and transport.
Pakenham’s migrant population has increased dramatically in the past five years and that growth is forecast to continue.
CEGS officer Iman Allaf said ethnic people living in Pakenham and other Cardinia Shire towns had the same needs as the rest of the community but were often less aware of the services available to them, and so missed out.
“I go out and speak to ethnic community groups and introduce them to HACC and to MECWA Cardinia Care,” Mrs Allaf said.
“I also work with care staff on cultural diversity issues, including preparing resource material for staff to learn about different cultures, to train staff on the use of interpreters and to make sure we are responding to the needs of migrants.”
The biggest ethnic community in Cardinia Shire is Italian, but there are also sizeable Croatian and Turkish communities.
A recent crosscultural training day at the Pakenham Senior Citizens Club introduced direct care workers to issues and barriers faced by people and looked for solutions to break those barriers, Mrs Allaf said.
The training session also included samples of other cultures, including bellydancers, different foods and different types of music, such as a bouzouki player.
“It went really well,” Mrs Allaf said.
“We’re expecting the numbers of migrants to get bigger and bigger, reflecting the changing population in the area.
“Pakenham, with its affordable housing and proximity to centres such as Dandenong, is a popular place for migrants. More and more people are moving here.
“Some groups are already very well integrated, others may not speak much English or are not used to having a welfare system in their own country.
“We need to get the community more aware of our services. The message we are sending is that this is their right, it’s not a charity.”
