Africa Comes to a Rural Community

By Amani Jensen-Bentley

An African-themed festival in May helped to build meaningful relationships between indigenous, non-indigenous and African cultures in Manning Valley, a rural part of New South Wales, and created opportunities for further community engagement.  High-school student Amani gives her take on the festival.

It’s odd being a teenager in a rural area. Technology allows the development of the world around us to be seen but sometimes the world we live in seems to be frozen. Every day people do the same thing - eat, drink, go to work and think the same thoughts they thought yesterday. However, the beauty of a country town is in the traditions, values, morals and attitudes of the people. Nevertheless, preconceived ideas about different nationalities, intolerance and racism can cloud perceptions and circulate within an isolated community. But is that the average person’s fault? Or is it that their eyes haven’t been opened to the diversity of the world with its vibrant cultures, delicious foods and various nationalities?

This is where “Manning Cultural Connections” comes in. This network of volunteers based in the Manning Valley is committed to facilitating social inclusion and celebrating what diverse nationalities bring to Australia.

One initiative it launched this year was the “Africa Comes to the Manning Valley” festival.  The week-long programme began with a spicy cooking class taught by two local Senegalese and Zimbabwean migrants and concluded on World Africa Day (May 25th).

Oz Afrique, a talented group of Cabramatta (Sydney) High School refugee students performed dances that captured their African roots and celebrated their new Australian home. Bent on Food Café in Wingham and the Manning United Church in Taree supported them and hosted several events. Local families provided homestays. Bent on Food Café laid on an African-themed dinner followed by an award-winning documentary “Kinshasa Symphony”.

Other documentaries and feature films were shown throughout the week at various venues, including a high school, a church, the community college and a library. Each venue drew an interesting range of viewers, who took part in the discussions that followed each film.

Local artists Ron and Helen Hindmarsh also took part, and displayed their African paintings and sculptures. Sydney-based social documentary photographer Louise Whelan contributed to the buzz by talking about her four-year documentation project commissioned by the New South Wales Library on the state’s ethnic communities. She also held a photography workshop for shutterbugs keen to learn how to tell stories through photos.

Carol Angir, the Kenya-born activist responsible for ActionAid Australia’s program addressing violence against women, shared an inspirational world view.

The finale of the festival packed a full house at Flow, a beach side restaurant.  The night’s entertainment was provided by a Newcastle African band “K Square”. People who lived hours away were drawn to the African-themed celebration of cultural diversity. The atmosphere was enhanced by photos that I had taken in Morocco and of a “Friendship Field Trip” by African refugees to the Manning Valley last year. The immigrants, based in Sydney, stayed here with Rotary families and experienced life in a rural town.

In conjunction with Manning Valley Neighbourhood Services, immigrants interested in relocating here get lots of support.

Next year, the festival will be held on May 18-25. It will feature more African films, weaving workshops by local indigenous and African artisans, African entertainment, food and music and market stalls. For information please call +61-2-6553 5121 or email rmw@mvns.org.au.

Manning Cultural Connections is involved in many inter-cultural events in other spheres and even on other continents. Besides helping with the festival, it is also interested in promoting social justice and relationship-building.

One of its other events was the “REAL Conciliation Women’s Camp” held at Saltwater National Park, NSW, in November 2013. The team facilitated inclusion of African culture over the three days, complementing more than 40 other cultures represented. The camp showcased everything from yoga, singing, basket weaving, self-defence courses and parenting workshops to storytelling. Children’s activities included candle making workshops and creative writing.

The camp was hosted by indigenous Australians on sacred land. Events like these help to thaw out the outdated perceptions of multiculturalism in rural areas and eventually bring them into sync with the positivity of the modern world.

As a photographer and member of Manning Cultural Connections, I am part of this small transformation effort. I want to eliminate outdated attitudes within rural communities and promote global views. In the words of Robert F. Kennedy, “Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”

I thank the Institute of Cultural Affairs for its support, both financial and collegial, to the 2013 “Africa Comes to the Manning Valley” festival.

Amani Jensen-Bentley is a 17-year-old high school student who lives on the mid-north coast of NSW, Australia. She is a gifted photographer and social justice advocate, with a talent for mobilising schoolmates and community members.