Community
31 March, 2024
Love, peace and harmony
CENTACARE FNQ’s annual Harmony Day celebration was its biggest yet, with about 300 people dressed in their colourful best for last week’s gathering.
Harmony events began with a traditional welcome to country for the city’s newest arrivals. In the first half of this year, Centacare FNQ will welcome 120 humanitarian migrants from the Democratic Republic of Congo, most of whom have waited between 10 and 15 years for resettlement.
Centacare FNQ’s multicultural services manager Andrea Obeyesekere said this year’s Harmony Week theme, 'Everyone Belongs', was a beautiful call to action for Cairns as a diverse community to share humanity and foster a sense of belonging and inclusivity.
“Harmony Day 2024 is one of our most memorable,” she said.
Centacare FNQ’s long-term Harmony Day partners represented at the event included Manoora Neighbourhood Centre and The Salvation Army along with Queensland Program of Assistance to Survivors of Torture and Trauma (QPASTT), Cairns West State School, Cairns Safer Streets, Cairns Arakanese Association, Cairns Bhutanese Association, Cairns African Association, and Cairns Congolese Association.
Since 1999, more than 80,000 Harmony events have been hosted across Australia in childcare centres, schools, community groups, churches, businesses, and federal, state, and local government agencies.
