On 1st November, 2010 Australian-Oromo families and youth joined forces in yet another exciting community initiative. Scores of Oromo people united in Melbourne’s Central Business District (CBD) to teach the wider Australian public about the Oromo cultural heritage and overall task was simple: to hand out pamphlets about Oromia to commuters in the afternoon rush hour.
I believe it is truly a gift when communities can make the time in their busy schedules to unite on shared values, and enjoy themselves at the same time. The two hours spent together was a joyous time as daily commuters took pamphlets from our hands, engaged in conversations, gazed at our costumes and took away our message into their homes.
My role was to take videos of everyone in action, and quite frankly, I struggled to keep up with our people! Scores of boisterous youth, smiling mothers and proud fathers distributed thousands of fliers in a matter of minutes during the afternoon rush hour of Melbourne’s busiest train stations.
I was proud to stand with my local community as everyone engaged so positively with our multi-faceted Australian-Oromo identity. Our Oromo awareness day in the heart of Melbourne created a perfect backdrop to all of our upcoming events that will keep our community busy throughout the summer of 2010 – I look forward to seeing you all then!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZNcE8K_rgY
I.U.Of!!
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