"Community Announcement"              Father Day at Gungahlin Park              Mon Language and Cultural School              Big Picnic Day at Cotter Reserve              World Refugee Day Celebration in Canberra              The 64th Mon National Day in Australia               Hongsavatoi Fallen Day              Mon Community in Queanbeyan Carnival              Mon Community participate in Union Day event in Sydney               Mon Women Day Celebration in Canberra               Mon New Year 2010

Father Day in Canberra



Former President Nai Din Pla Hong Sar accepting gift from his son, Nyan Dai on Father Day

Father Day for Mon Men celebrated in Canberra for BBQ:
A sunny weather of Canberra’s beautiful spring season begins with a welcoming of all fathers in Australia where family celebrates ‘Father Day’ in Australia-wide with a sense of praise and acknowledgement to all men as father and much more for family. Fathers of the Mon community joined the public event in the beautiful green park with wives and children on Sunday 4 September with food, drink and sharing gifts with Mon seniors.

“I am going to read these books proudly”, said Din Pla Hongsa after receiving books as Fathers’ Day gift from his two sons in the gathering while he enjoyed the sunny weather with other fathers from the Mon community. A day of celebration for father is meaningful for him.

The first ever organised ‘Mon Fathers’ Day” by Mon Women Association with an appreciation of role of father or men in the community, Mon women proudly prepared and served food for all men who joined the celebration.

“My father is in home country, Burma / Myanmar, so I missed him today dearly when I saw other elder men in the park”, said Mi Ngwe Yein, the head of Mon Women Association.

BBQ is proudly claimed as an Australian way of life in a big public park when all youth and children can play in the world class facilities in the park. There are about 25 Mon youth and children in the park playing with other youth and children from other cultural backgrounds.

“I hope Mon youth and children can come together, play and share together like this for many events”, said Zehan Nai, a new Board Member of Australia Mon Association Inc.

The event offered a small gift to the Mon elder, Nai Tin Aye, who has also served as president of the association because most Mon families who migrated to Australia came without parents. He represents the symbol of other fathers among Mon families.

“We all left homeland and our parents when we fled home country, it is a sad and happy day for me because, I have got one thing and I have lost other thing”, said by Nai Loka Chanmi, who has two young children. “Coming together is our way of life if we want to be close as a community”, he added.

About 48 Mon people joined the Fathers’ Day celebration which was proudly organised by Mon women with partial funding from ACT Office of Women under Women Grants for cultural integration purpose. Almost all Mon fathers are young fathers with young children in Canberra. They at least enjoyed red wine and lamb like other Australian men.

Reported by Hong Sar Channaibanya, Mon Office Administration Team