Helping newly-arrived refugees, including those from Ukraine, connect to their communities was the aim of the day on July 1, which followed on from June's Refugee Week celebrations.
Gunnamatta Park was a rich melting pot of cultural diversity on Friday, when an event gave refugees who are settling into Sutherland Shire, the opportunity to learn valuable skills.
Gymea Community Aid hosted the event, which was slightly reshuffled because of the rain. Its planned beach activities and entertainment were shifted to incorporate educational talks that covered things like ocean safety awareness.
Gymea Community Aid and information actively supports the settlement of people of refugee backgrounds through its programs and services. Settlement and Multicultural Services Manager, Jenny Grey, said the "welcome picnic" promoted harmony and togetherness.
"Sutherland Shire is a designated Refugee Welcome Zone. We are uniting from many different backgrounds to share our common humanity and welcoming our newest arrivals from Ukraine who are now living in Sutherland Shire," she said.
"Settlement Services International is supporting Ukrainian arrivals and are bringing a group to the event to enjoy the beauty of Gunnamatta Park and to get a know of the services available in Sutherland Shire, with a view to settling here."
Among the organisations that also work to support to lives of refugees in the shire, is volunteer-run, Sutherland Shire Refugee Connection committee.
It offers support to help refugees settle into their new surroundings. This may include financial help for housing.
Formed in 2018, the organisation hopes to this year secure a corporate sponsor for the creation of the HOME Program, designed to provide subsidised housing to refugees.
Earlier in the year, the organisation was given $10,000 from the Commonwealth Bank Staff Foundation. Funds needed for the program would expand opportunities available to refugees.
"HOME has so much potential for the sponsor and the participants," Committee member, Shazia Mia said. "I would think of this as a blank canvas for an organisation who is wanting to execute their Corporate Social Responsibility."
She says there are challenges in attracting refugees to the shire due to "outdated perceptions that the area is not welcoming to those of different background."
"We are working with other settlement organisations to help ease the burden of demand for low accommodation housing in the more traditionally settled areas," she said.
Ms Mia said it was also important for new arrivals to be given the best opportunity to assimilate into their new communities.
"Understandably, new arrivals want to be close to their communities and be able to access the food or goods they are familiar with," she said. "We talk about how we want communities to mix, but it's difficult to do this when a government marks out certain areas for example, the Iraqi or Syrian community. There is no assimilation. There are people for whom learning English is not a priority because there is no need for it. They are only mixing with their communities.
"[We have] a cohesive desire to achieve successful integration of refugees into the shire."
Minister for Multiculturalism Mark Coure said since 2016, more than 31,000 refugees have settled in NSW. He said the NSW Government proudly invests in programs and partners with organisations to ensure people from a refugee background have a safe place to call home and are provided with every opportunity to heal and connect with their community.
"A prime example is our Families in Cultural Transition program, which takes newcomers through a 10-week series of workshops to make sense of the new world in which they live," Mr Coure said.