Did you know that Yarra and Darebin have a long standing community relationship along with a formal partnership with the municipality of Baucau in Timor-Leste?

The friendship was established whilst Timor-Leste was fighting for independence back in the 1990s. And it has endured over time. For many years our Councils funded a neighbourhood house in the city of Baucau. This was a wonderful and vital resource for women, children and the broader community as the country rebuilt infrastructure and resources after the devastation caused by the fight for independence. And although the house itself shut down a few years ago, it seeded a number of enduring community organisations - and enabled a number of strong and active local women (in particular, but some men also) to build a platform and profile within the Baucau municipal government.

Darebin and Yarra Councils continue their relationship with Baucau today, and still support grassroots activities via the community friendship group - Friends of Baucau. Over the years this local community group (that meets monthly in Darebin and Yarra) has continued to advocate for the formal municipal partnership, fundraise for on-ground community initiatives and build strong enduring and trusted relationships in Baucau. The focus recently has been on empowering women, supporting education and helping communities build best practise for sustainable agriculture. In the last few years they encouraged Darebin’s neighbourhood houses to visit Baucau (I was lucky enough to go on this trip) to meet like-minded active women’s organisations over there and think about how we could build and grow partnerships at the grassroots level.

So with this personal connection, it really has been devastating to see and hear about the impacts of the recent cyclone and associated flooding on the community over there. Timor-Leste is the poorest country in our region, with people living on less than $1 a day.

And if you are living at or below the poverty line like this, losing your house, your possessions, your bed and/or your crops is devastatingly life changing - and not just immediately, but for many years to come.

So … Friends of Baucau has set up a Give Now page, to support a trusted local community organisation to help out locals across the Baucau municipality at this time.

The funding will help families buy the basics to continue to survive such as food, beds etc. But also help them replant crops. It will also give those most in need 2 goats to grow and sell, helping them to rebuild their ability to self-sustain with dignity once again.

If you’d like to contribute you can find out more here. If you’d like more information about Friends of Baucau you can check them out on Facebook here.

Damage to houses in the municipality of Baucau.

We’ve had 18 people in our Women in the Shed program over 3 days in Term 1 and have been delighted to see proud faces and confidence beaming from the women as the finishing touches were applied to their projects. This term we saw some gorgeous mosaics produced along with wonderful woodwork projects including tool boxes, chopping boards and planter stands.

The Women in the Shed program has been a great success. It is fully booked again for Term 2, but we will open bookings for Term 3 and 4 in June. If you are keen to join in you can join our waiting list here.

Above is a picture of our Thursday group who paused in their final session to enjoy morning tea together.

And some snaps from the class and final shed projects below.

Hi Leanne here.

Did you know that Alphington Community Centre began life as a babysitting club? Women helping each other out, connecting, filling the gaps, addressing social isolation.

And then it evolved to include a toy library and an op-shop so that women could fundraise, share resources and/or pass on the things they didn’t need anymore to someone else who did. When money was tight.

And then came playgroups, and lunches … nourishing neighbourhood stomachs and lonely souls. And fitness classes for healthy bodies and minds. And so on and so forth.

After a year of COVID I am pretty sure that even those of you who had previously not lived a daily life in your home neighbourhood, now understand that grassroots local connections, support and resources are super important.

Every day when I come to work I think not just about how lucky I am to have such a fabulous job, but also about how very fortunate we are to have a neighbourhood house in our community.

I first came to ACC when my kids were little. Elspeth was running it then, and I remember how easy, kind, calm and welcoming everything was. I went to yoga at the Alphington Scout Hall and it didn’t matter that my kids cried or got in the way. I came to playgroup here at the centre and it was all very chilled. I took my kids to Susie’s dancing classes at the Fairfield Community Rooms (so much loud crazy fun!) and then to Vikki’s ballet classes at the Fairfield Girl Guides Hall (remember that building). And when I wasn’t doing things associated with ACC I went off to kids music classes, and mums and bubs yoga at Jika Jika, the neighbourhood house in Northcote.

But to tell you the truth, I didn’t really connect up all the dots. That the things I wanted and needed when I was at home by myself for the first time (and juggling children and this whole new lonely non-working world) including the chance to make new friends, keep fit and healthy, keep my kids busy and learning … but not spend lots of money - were all available because someone (just like the future me - the now me) was thinking about women, thinking about young families, quietly behind the scenes assessing and addressing social isolation, loneliness, quantifying community need and identifying what was missing, and then exploring what was possible at the neighbourhood level that could make a difference. And implementing these things.

When I got my first job at ACC Becca was running the centre. And she was equally as inspiring and lovely as Elspeth. She was generous enough to take me under her wing. She was a fabulous organiser and small business operator, and so when I finally took over from her I inherited a wealth of knowledge, great connections and a neighbourhood institution that was financially robust.

Anyway. Today on International Women’s Day I want to thank all the women who came before me (and us).

So many (mostly) women in our neighbourhood pushed determinedly for ACC to exist, for it to have solid funding, and then contributed their time and energy (so many volunteer hours) to make it even more, and ensure Alphington Community Centre is what it is today.

And speaking of today. Today loneliness and social isolation haven’t gone anywhere. In fact our understanding of who is impacted and the social, physical and financial cost is growing, as more and more research in this area is published.

Young mums and dads need neighbourhood connections. And older people (because we all know that retirement is another poky time for loneliness). And then we know that more and more people live alone. Which can be lonely. And families don’t necessarily live close by. Which can be isolating … and it goes on and on.

In Alphington we really are very fortunate that we already have a neighbourhood house in our community - physical and social infrastructure that is flexible and dynamic with a wealth of networks and experience that can expand and grow to address our evolving understanding of social isolation, loneliness and community need.

And today is a great day to acknowledge that this resource would not exist for everyone without strong visionary women. Women who championed it in the first place, and women who subsequently built on the foundations to evolve ACC into the amazing community resource that it is today.

Go women of Alphington past and present! And Happy International Women’s Day.

Last Friday Anne (our chair) and I were delighted to show Cr Gabrielle de Vietri, Yarra’s new Mayor, around the house and talk to her about all the exciting and neighbourhoodly things we do here. Gabrielle came along with Kathy who is our main contact and lovely colleague at Yarra Council and Elly who supports volunteering across Yarra.

It was a great morning to visit as it was Brett’s birthday and we decorated him a pretty fancy cake. We’ve attached some photos so that you can admire our efforts and wish you too were here to partake of the sugary delight!

So, if you would like to eat cake and coffee with nice people in the neighbourhood any Friday during school term, just pop past at 11.30am. Alternatively join us from 10am for art, craft and gardening (and possibly some cooking/cake decorating). We hope to see you soon!

The very best thing about being part of a neighbourhood house is the ability to make the most of the skills in our community and the opportunities on our doorstep.

During lockdown we met lovely local Maylei when she contacted us proposing a wooden spoon carving workshop - and followed up with a visit to buy a mask and introduce herself in person, back in the day when masks were the new thing (it seems like a lifetime ago now).

Wooden spoon carving sounds pretty cool right? And we were keen to continue the discussion (note the expression of interest process we have running - you can register here if it sounds like your cup of tea too).

Anyway, we’ve been having ongoing discussions with Maylei about how she could contribute at ACC, and last term she took part in our Women in the Shed program, with the thought that if demand continued, she could run an additional session this year.

And it has. And so she is.

So we thought it might be nice to introduce her. Maylei is a visual artist and social documentary photographer. She is originally from Sydney but moved to Melbourne four years ago.

She has a diploma in Community Development and has taught a range of creative classes to children and adults alike, including photography, visual arts and wooden spoon carving (obviously).

Maylei has a long-standing interest in wood working and particularly loves creating practical items. Here’s a photo of her with the rustic planter she made last term in our program … she made it to match one she has at home already.

If you are keen to book yourself a place in Women in the Shed it is full this term but there are spots available next term. So you can still join in this safe, kind, fun, creative and supportive class on Thursdays. And we also have a couple of Learn Local discounted spots as well for next term (these take the cost down from $150 to $50 for those that need it - just contact our office). Find out more and book in here.