Feel at home
Spending time with the Macedonian seniors group
“It feels like home here – we’re like a family”
For twenty years now, a small community centre in Reservoir has hosted a weekly gathering of Macedonian seniors. The centre is shared by other community groups, but the Macedonian group have made it feel like ‘their’ home by decorating the walls with their handicrafts made across more than two decades.
High on one wall hangs a beautiful tapestry, a patchwork of woven squares in bold yellow and red. It is dated 2006 and includes the letters ‘NMRC Macedonian PAG’ – a reminder of a time when Spectrum was called the Northeastern Region Migrant Resource Centre, and our Social Support Groups for Seniors were called ‘Planned Activity Groups’.
Below the tapestry hangs a large Macedonian flag, along with a picture of Goce Delchev, a revolutionary and national hero. The flag features again in the mosaic tiles above the kitchen window. There are smaller tapestries and other crafted items featuring iconic Macedonian landmarks: the Bitola clocktower, the Skopje stone bridge, the Monastery of St Naum. Together they form proud tributes to the seniors’ country of origin – cherished memories of the home they left.
Many of the seniors in the Macedonian group would have arrived in Australia in the 1960’s and 70’s, either to reunite with family members who were displaced in earlier years, or to pursue better economic opportunities. They made their homes in Melbourne’s north and north-western suburbs where they worked hard and raised their families.
Now aged in their 80’s and 90’s, they attend Spectrum’s weekly group for social connection with others who speak their language. They enjoy a shared lunch of food that is typical of their country, and they participate in activities such as gentle exercise, games and crafting.
Some have been attending the group for decades, such as 99-year-old Marko, sadly recently deceased, who started attending the group when it was first formed. Over the years the seniors have established strong connections with fellow participants, as well as the staff.
Daniela, the group facilitator, has been running the group for 16 years, and Vele, the driver, has been transporting the group participants for 25 years! It is no wonder that both use the words ‘family’ and ‘home’ when describing this social support group. They point out photographs on the walls of the community centre: the time when participants reenacted a typical Macedonian wedding; the intergenerational project that brought students from Lalor North Primary School to join the seniors for weekly sessions; the black and white portraits of participants, now deceased but never forgotten.
It is the intermingling of mementos – old country, new country – that makes the Macedonian group so special. Acknowledging the history and culture of participants’ country of origin, while making space and opportunity to create new memories in their new country is the template across our 23 weekly social support groups for nine different cultural groups.
It is fitting that tomorrow marks the UN International Day for Tolerance, whose declaration affirms that tolerance is ‘respect and appreciation of the rich variety of our world’s cultures, our forms of expression and ways of being human’.
What better way to ensure that people ‘feel at home’.