HARDA runs small projects in the Sydney area that aim to help and support migrants, their families and communities from the Horn of Africa integrate into local Australian life. We try and fill gaps that the communities identify as needs that are not being met elsewhere.
Our community projects have included programs like Connecting Communities program which helps increase understanding and integration and is lots of fun for the kids; Emergency help, which helped our communities during covid with emergency food and supplies; cultural nights with our communities and the broader Australian communities; a cooking program, all of which are detailed below.
Emergency support for local communities during Covid (Oct 2021) (October 24, 2021) - HARDA was very fortunate that the Scanlon Foundation provided an Emergency Support grant in a extremely short time frame in early August so that we could provide urgent assistance to community members experiencing severe hardship due to them or their families having contracted Covid, needing to be in isolation or due to the long lockdown. This help was provided by email in the form of Woolworths gift cards to enable contactless delivery of food and other urgently needed essentials. Information was also provided on the financial assistance available from the government, on Covid restrictions and requirements, on vaccinations and in… Read more
Annual HARDA Cultural nights (September 5, 2014) - HARDA ran cultural nights annually from circa 2012 to 2014 These nights showcased African culture, food, dance, singing, art and crafts. Each year the function was attended by 200-400 people from the Horn of Africa and the wider community from Western Sydney as well as elders. Supporters over the years have been STARTTS, ACL, Hills Holroyd Parramatta MRC, Multicultural Council, NSW Community Relations, among others. HARDA Cultural Nights Read more
2012 Cooking Pot (June 5, 2012) - The Cooking Pot Project was an unique and innovative program initiated by HARDA to help the African Australian women interact and share their experiences with the wider Australian community. A catalyst for integration and promotion of understanding, this cooking program allowed African migrant women to get together with Australian women to learn new dishes and get to know each other The sessions were supervised by Chef Luigi De Luca who shared and guided the women during the process. During the period of 6 weeks the women cooked not only traditional African recipes but also learnt to cook Japanese, Mexican, Italian… Read more