MDAA sHARE Newsletter February 2009 MDAA Contact details: by phone: (02) 9891 6400 or 1800 629 072 by fax: (02) 9635 5355 by e-mail: mdaa@mdaa.org.au Website: www.mdaa.org.au by writing: PO Box 9381, Harris Park NSW 2150 by coming to the office: Monday -Friday, 9.00am - 5.00pm, 40 Albion Street, Harris Park NSW 2150 In this issue: Healthy Life Style Consumers’ Forum MDAA Forums & Consultations 2009 International Women’s Day Page 1 MDAA CONSUMER FORUMS AND CONSULTATIONS FOR 2009 As you know , MDAA has consumer forums and consultations throughout the year. We invite guest speakers from government and non- government organisations to talk about consumer issues/concerns. Here are the dates and topics for 2009. 1.Health & Nutrition Forum, 11 March. RSVP: Ask for Gordana. 2.Homecare Service Consultation, March (date to be advised). RSVP: Ask for Diana. 3.Tenancy Rights Forum, 29 April. RSVP: Ask for Vanco. 4.Consultation (topic and date to be advised). 5.NSW Ombudsman & Office of the Protective Commissioner Forum, 24 June. RSVP: Ask for Gordana or Susan. 6.Consultation (topic and date to be advised). 7.Building Good Relationships/Communication Forum, 26 August. RSVP: Ask for Viji. 8.Morning Tea/Membership Campaign, 30 September. RSVP: Ask for Vanco. 9.Planning for Future Needs, 28 October. This will cover Homecare, PADP and hospital services. RSVP: Ask for Susan, Ace or Luis. 10.Annual General Meeting, 25 November (venue to be advised). RSVP: Ask for Judith. 11.Consumer Training Needs Consultation and End of Year Party, 16 December. RSVP: Ask for Susan or Gordana. To register for forums and consultations call 9891 6400 Pages 2 and 3 INDIAN WEDDING TRADITIONS My name is Nidhi Shekaran and I visited India for five weeks during December 2008 to attended my sister’s wedding. These are some of the observed wedding traditions. Wedding traditions vary across religion, caste, ethnicity, language, region, etc. Traditional Indian weddings are generallystructured into pre-wedding ceremonies, wedding day ceremonies (consisting of the Baraat, the Varmala and the Phere), and the Vidaai, In modern times people are choosing their prospective partners through matrimonial websites or friendship websites such as Facebook. An example of the complexity of an Indian wedding can be seen from the various phases of a wedding in the North. The following events take place in a typical Eastern Uttar Pradesh Hindu marriage. Before the wedding day: Bariksha is when the bride's parents have informally shown intentions that they want a particular groom, and the groom and his family have agreed. Retracting at the end of this stage is frowned upon but is acceptable. Tilak involves the bride's parents traveling to the groom's place to formalize the relationship. A large feast is organized by the groom's family to celebrate this occasion. Only a nominal number of members of the bride's family are present (usually only very close relatives, often in tens of numbers. Typically, female relatives from the bride's family are not present.) After this stage, the retraction of the marriage proposal is very rare. Wedding ceremony: Varmala/Jaimala is the next phase of the marriage ceremony. In older times, varmala was a part of the main marriage ceremony. Practical considerations have forced weddings to take a new approach. Eastern/North Indian weddings usually take place late in the night, often starting at about midnight and lasting until the early hours of morning. The main wedding event is usually accompanied by the groom arriving with his family/friends in a procession called a Baraat. Because the wedding ceremony is usually accompanied by a reception and a feast, the main marriage ceremony has been split into two parts. Varmala+Reception and then the more ritualistic part involving a priest. Many times the bridal party will be led on horseback or horse-drawn-carriage, and the groom will ride on horseback. Immediately after the groom has arrived with the Baraat, the groom and bride meet and exchange garlands in the Jaimala ceremony. Once this ceremony has finished, the well wishers congratulate the groom and the bride and present gifts to them. Food is served during this ceremony, and pretty much everyone except closest relatives leave once the ceremony has finished. The main part of the wedding starts after the Jaimala ceremony has finished. The groom and the bride sit beside the fire and the priest chants shlokas (hymns) and the groom and the bride exchange vows in front of many gods and goddesses. Towards the end of the marriage ceremony, a ritual called Phere (meaning "revolutions") is performed. In the Phere ritual, a part of the groom's attire and the bride's attire are tied together (symbolizing that they are now united) as they go around the ceremonial fire seven times. Each round about the fire symbolizes a part of life. The bride leads in first three rounds symbolizing that the earlier part of marriage is led by the bride. The groom leads in the last four rounds symbolizing that the later part of life will be led by him. Sometime during the ceremony, the groom puts a little sindoor(red powder) in the parting of the bride's hair and puts a mangalsutra (necklace) around her neck. These tasks symbolize that she is now a married woman, as all married Hindu women are supposed to wear sindoor in the parting of their hair for the rest of their married lives. Vidaai: On the morning following the Varmala/ Phere, the groom has a final breakfast at the bride's place, and the bride leaves her parents' house escorted by the groom. Traditionally, this phase is accompanied by the bride's family shedding many tears and throwing raw, white rice as she parts from the home where she grew up to start a new phase of her life. This part of the marriage ceremony is called Vidaai. My experience of an Indian wedding is that they are fun, stressful and enjoyable and colourful to watch. One of the other benefits of an arranged Indian wedding is that it reduces the burden of finding someone yourself and research also shows that arranged marriages have a lower rate of divorce. CASE STUDY An MDAA consumer made a complaint to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) concerning an incident where he was refused entry to a Correctional Centre when visiting a relative. He was refused entry because he was using a cane due to a visual impairment. The complaint was resolved and a conciliation agreement reached between the consumer and Department of Corrective Services NSW. ,It was agreed, at the conciliation meeting held at HREOC, that the consumer would write a letter requesting that two canes be purchased by the Correctional Centre for use by visitors. The Correctional Centre has now purchased the two canes; one short and one tall. The consumer felt that this was a satisfactory solution and HREOC has now closed the case. Women’s Day Celebration Fairfield Immigrant and Refugee Women’s Network (FIRWN) is organising a big Festival to celebrate International Women's Day on Friday 6 March 2009 at the PCYC, 162 Railway Parade, Cabramatta between 10:30am and 1pm. MDAA is one of the organisers for the day. Among the performers: Filipino singer Ace Boncato and Lebanese belly dancer, Hannen Abdallah, Centrelink Choir and a parade of nations from Australian Centre for Languages (ACL) Cabramatta. Every year millions of women around the world, including members of our Network, celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD). It is a day to celebrate our achievements and to think about the rights that we women still need to fight for. It is a day to feel a sense of strength, pride and community with other women. Join us! NSW Network of Women to Celebrate International Women’s Day Sydney IWD March and Festival Saturday 7 March Meet at Sydney Town Hall, George Street @ 11.30 am for the rally and march to Hyde Park North – Just look for or ask for the NSW Network of Women with Disability banner. Women with Disability Lead the Way! This year our Network will be one of the groups LEADING THE MARCH!! It would be great to have lots and lots of us there to march or support the Network. Festival at Hyde Park North There will again be a festival at Hyde Park North, after the march. The marchers will arrive at Hyde Park around 12.30pm. Visit the Network stall – the big, beautiful, accessible one! Our stall will be wheelchair accessible and close to the paths. If you have any questions, would like to join in the fun or volunteer at our stall please contact Ace via email on ace.boncato@mdaa.org.au or phone 1800 629 072 or visit www.femability.org.au Page 4 Gordana Kalanj attends Multicultural Festival in Canberra From 6 to 15 February 2009 Canberra (ACT) organised the 13th National Multicultural Festival which is an exciting celebration of cultural diversity. The National Multicultural Festival is administered by the Office of Multicultural, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Affairs within the ACT Department of Disability, Housing and Community Services. The aim of the festival is to bring together different communities and share their traditions. This year's celebration featured theatre, music, comedy, film exhibitions, food stalls, dancing and other activities. This year I participated in this event as a member of the Bosnian Women’s Choir “Blue River”. I felt and shared the spirit of inclusiveness, unity, harmony and goodwill with everyone. I learned a lot about other communities, their traditions and tasted different food. I had a great time and hopefully I will participate next year too. Bangladeshi community at Canberra Multicultural Festival One of our consumers who is very active in his community, Jamil Shibli, also set up a stall representing the Bangladeshi community. Some people from the Bangladeshi community from Sydney trekked all the way to Canberra to attend the celebration. Good work Jamil! Religious and Significant Days MARCH 2 Lent begins (Clean Monday) Orthodox Christian 8 International Women’s Day United Nations 8 Orthodox Sunday Orthodox Christian 9 Mawlid an Nabi * Islam 10 Purim * Jewish 11 Holi ** Hindu Hola Maholla Sikh Magha Puja Day** Buddhist 21 Naw Ruz (New Year) * Baha’i Norooz (The New Day) Zoroastrian 21 International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination United Nations Harmony Day Australia 25 Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Christian 26 Khordad Sal (Birth of the prophet Zarathushtra) Zoroastrian 27 New Year** Hindu 27-3 April Ramayana** Hindu 29 Passion Sunday** Christian APRIL 3 Ramanavami ** Hindu 5 Palm Sunday Christian 9 - 12 Theravadan Buddhist New Year Buddhist 9 - 16 Pesach (Passover) * Jewish 10 Good Friday Christian 11 Easter Saturday Christian 12 Easter Sunday Christian 12 Palm Sunday Orthodox Christian 13 Easter Monday Christian 14 Baisakhi (Vaisakhi) Sikh 17 Holy Friday Orthodox Christian 18 Lazarus Saturday Orthodox Christian 19 Easter/ Pascha Orthodox Christian 21 Yom HaShoah * Jewish Ridvan begins * Baha’i 29 Ninth Day of Ridvan * Baha'i Note: * Usually begins sunset the day before; ** local customs may vary this date. Dates and information largely obtained from the Interfaith Calendar (www.interfaithcalendar.org/2009.htm). More details about each day can be found at www.mdaa.org.au on the Frequently Asked Questions page. Insert COMPANION CARD What is a Companion Card? If you have a significant, lifelong disability and require attendant care for the rest of your life, a Companion Card will allow you to participate in community activities and events without discrimination. This means you will no longer be required to pay two admission or booking fees in order to take your attendant carer with you to participating venues and events. How does it work? First, you need to request an application, fill out and return it. If you are eligible, a card with your photograph on it will be issued to you. You could then present your Companion Card when booking or purchasing a ticket at participating events and venues, provided you require attendant care support to participate in that particular activity. The venue would then issue you with a second ticket for your companion at no charge. Who can apply for a card? The Companion Card is for people with a profound disability who always require an attendant carer to support their participation in community activities and venues. Companion Cards will not be issued in the name of a companion or carer – a card will only be issued in the name of the person who has a lifelong disability. A Companion Card will be issued to people who are assessed as meeting all of the following eligibility criteria – ¦?you are a resident of NSW ¦?you have a severe or profound disability ¦?you are unable to participate in most community-based activities without significant assistance with mobility, communication, self care, planning and the use of aids and other technologies do not meet those needs ¦?your level of support is lifelong The Companion Card is not provided to people who require social support, assurance or encouragement. How do I apply? First, you need to request an application form by calling 1800 893 044, or by going to the website and downloading a form. www.companioncard.org.au Free Telephone Interpreting Service (TIS) to pharmacy clients across Australia A media release on 8 December 2008, from Mr Laurie Ferguson, the Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs and Settlement Services, announced that as a result of a recent pilot with a Liverpool pharmacy, where a free interpreting program was launched, a fee-free access to TIS will be made available to all registered pharmacies around Australia on a 7-day a week, 24-hour basis. This program will benefit elderly former migrants who never achieved functional English as well as the newly arrived refugee and humanitarian entrants, who are known to have higher than average health issues and need a pharmacists’ expert advice regarding the taking of prescribed medications. Insert MDAA is inviting all consumers and members to a “Healthy Life Style” Consumer Forum. Would you like to know more about : • Nutrition • Health • Gentle Exercise WHERE: MDAA Office, 40 Albion St, Harris Park LUNCH WILL BE PROVIDED FREE OF CHARGE For more information and/or to let us know you are coming please call Gordana or Judith on 9891 6400