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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-07-23 Daily Xml
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INTERNATIONAL FORUM FOR RECONCILIATION AND PEACE

Mrs VLAHOS (Taylor) (15:26): I would like to speak today about an event I attended on Saturday 13 July at Influencers Church in Currie Street. It was a fantastic opportunity to meet with the local African Australian community who were hosting the event. The event was the International Forum for Reconciliation and Peace, which was holding its first meeting in South Australia.

Foreign dignitaries from Uganda were present, including Ambassador Dickson Ogwang, Reverend Sam Mukabi Zema and the Honourable Justice Mike Chibita. All three of these men actually have remarkable stories of courage and personal perseverance in their countries. They have overcome oppression and adversity in their birthplaces to become the leaders they are today.

Community leaders and members of the local African community also attended, including forum organisers Prosper Baeni, Jackson Kinchimba and Pastor John Nkombera. All of these people are involved with the Peniel Free Pentecostal Church near my area. I would also like to mention an ex-constituent of my local community, Mr Mark Mudri, who was very kind to invite me along to the event that day. He is certainly a great believer in the positive options for this state and the inherent good in all of us.

Many of the local attendees are in the northern area of my seat and it was great to get to know them. They are part of the growing African community in the areas of the City of Salisbury and the City of Playford. In fact, the African connection and the African community in my area is a wonderful story that is glowing brightly.

The community spirit is often seen in the most unexpected place, such as with the stories of Manyok Ajak and Gabriel Atem, both of whom are from South Sudan and fled more than 10 years ago from the war and persecution there. One of the recent stories that I look forward to hearing from them this week, as I host the SES for a special thank you dinner in the upstairs dining room, is their volunteer work with firefighters in their homeland and the work they do with the SES at Edinburgh.

Another example of this community spirit is Floribert Kibangula, president of the Congolese community group BRICA. Floribert is working with the Congolese across the state to provide programs that help educate members about government services and organise social activities. They have an active membership that is passionate about their community and caring for it. These are just some of the wonderful migrant community stories I hear in the north most days and these are the elements that make our society so rich and healthy in the north and are why we are continuing to prosper and grow and attract more people to the growing community in the north.

For many reasons, when I speak to these people, one of the things that I say is, 'We are all in this together.' It is a far better philosophy than being on your own. In fact, healthy communities are grown through community leaders who try to support their communities and help grow new leaders after them. I look forward to working with these new emerging African communities and churches in my area, because I sincerely believe that their faith and love of community have brought them together and I look forward to working alongside them in the years to come.

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