Mabuhay! New connections forged amongst inner west seniors
Tasty food, line dancing and a raffle were the order of the day as seniors in the inner west and their families and friends enjoyed a taste of Filipino culture at an annual community event held in September 2022.
This year’s Filipino Annual Festivity was made possible by a grant from the West Gate Neighbourhood Fund, under Round 1 of the Grants –Celebrating Neighbourhoods stream. It is one of 28 projects awarded funding in areas such as arts and culture, culturally and linguistically diverse communities, sustainability, sport and recreation, and education.
Organised by the Association of Senior Filipino Australians in Victoria Inc (ASFAVI), the celebratory event ‘Dance the Night Away’ - came about after members of the Association wanted to reach out to more seniors in the inner west to join their monthly activities and encourage them to embrace a more socially active lifestyle.
While senior Filipino members living in Maribyrnong and surrounding suburbs currently attend the Association’s monthly meetings, the Association believes that increasing the membership and widening it to include seniors from other communities would allow the Association to create more activities to serve inner west seniors better.
“Our culture celebrates community, family and respect for our elders. Elderly Filipinos tend to live with their families, and they can become isolated and dependent on their children. Our monthly meetings where we cook and share a meal, do line dancing and games, are designed to help these seniors form meaningful connections and break their social isolation. Our get-togethers have even drawn interest from Vietnamese seniors who are now regular attendees,” says Mr Ador Cabantog, an officer from the Association.
Mr William Napiza, current president of ASFAVI noted, “The Annual Festivity gives the Association a chance to celebrate its past achievements and to promote our culture and community. We want to encourage more seniors to join us and through that, participate in our activities to live a more socially engaged life.”
See the full list of West Gate Neighbourhood Fund Grants stream recipients and projects.
Read more about how the West Gate Neighbourhood Fund is making a difference to communities in the West.
