Harmony Day Nyngan High School | Photos
Last week Nyngan High School united together to celebrate Harmony Day.
SRC Coordinator Rick Partridge said the day was “a celebration, and it was centred around the opportunity for people with different backgrounds to share their experiences.”
Students from the High School and community members gathered together to celebrate the event.
SRC students Katie Boland, Lily Meldrum, Mia Taylor and Jack Meldrum opened the day with an acknowledgement of Country in language.
Local community member John Sipendi was the guest speaker for the day and discussed his Papua New Guinean cultural background, his experiences and the challenges of migrating to Australia.
Mr Partridge said “he gave a very engaging, amazing speech.
“He was extremely inspiring and he talked about how with every hurdle he kept pushing and pushing and never gave up.”
Student Tsitsi Dhedheya shared her thoughts on her experience of being someone from a Zimbabwean background living in Australia. Similarly to Mr Sipendi she spoke about some of the challenges and overt racism she faced, however was positive about her experience in Nyngan.
“She spoke very movingly and I think honestly about her experiences,” said Mr Partridge.
Jesse Gonzales read the poem ‘Too many names’ by Pablo Neruda, a Chilean poet.
Local Aboriginal Carol Lord shared her experiences and discussed how living in a divided world between white and Indigenous Australians had its challenges for her growing up.
However she said that by embracing her own culture and identity through family and local community, she has been able to develop a confidence in herself.
Ms Lord summarised with inspirational words, what Harmony Day means to her and encouraged that Nyngan is a small community within a global world, and we need to respect one another.
Mr Partridge closed the ceremony sharing his experiences of migrating to Australia from Canada.
Nyngan High principal Michael Gibson said the day was very well received.
“It was a very meaningful and heartfelt celebration, but one that was filled with a lot of positivity and an overriding message of why unity is so important not only at our school but across the community.”
Mr Partridge agreed adding that there was a theme of unity which ran through the poem and the speakers.
Mr Gibson thanked Mr Partridge for his efforts in organising the day.
“My compliments to Rick on the day, it was a fantastic compilation and it was a nice spread of different cultures within the school.”
Both thanked the SRC for all their help not only on the day but also in the lead up to the event.
“It was very much a team effort, and I’m very proud of the SRC and the way they came together to make Harmony day a great school event,” said Mr Partridge.
[contf]
[contfnew]
Nyngan Observer
[contfnewc]
[contfnewc]
