Everyone belongs

Harmony Week from 16-22 March is an opportunity to celebrate the diversity of our customers, volunteers and staff.

The Harmony Week theme ‘Everyone belongs’ celebrates cultural diversity, inclusiveness and respect and reflects our values at Uniting AgeWell. The week is a powerful symbol of inclusion and includes the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on 21 March.

Harmony is about creating environments where differences are welcomed and dignity is protected. Residents at all our individual aged care facilities choose a country to celebrate each month: the cuisine, culture, language, scenery and traditions. While chefs whip up traditional culinary cuisines, staff or entertainers perform traditional dances or songs and residents enjoy virtual sight-seeing tours of the country.

Various religious and cultural days are also celebrated. Recently staff at our Manor Lakes Community brought in shared foods from their birth countries, alongside plates of traditional North and South Indian cuisine. They were celebrating Holi, also known as the Festival of Colours.

Manor Lakes Lifestyle Coordinator Chithra Subramaniyam who is Hindu and from the southern parts of India gave an insight to the celebrations saying, “Some staff got very creative” painting each other’s faces with bright colours for the event representing the triumph of good over evil, or light over dark.

Read the experiences of two residents in our aged care facilities who demonstrate that while we are many, we are one.

Dinky di Aussie Val Latimer came to our Latvian Community for respite care and despite knowing little about the Latvian culture, loved it so much she refused to leave!
Chinese speaking Li Wang, 92, loves the warm, caring staff and atmosphere at Manor Lakes Community where the kindness and care she receives is the unspoken universal language.