Mahatma Gandhi Awareness

Friends

Mahatma Gandhi Awareness Peace walk which was organised by Mahatma Gandhi Awareness, Gold Coast, Queens Land , Australia ended successfully on 21st September at the City hall Brisbane , Australia .. Thanks to octogenarian Garvin Brown, the Australian Gandhi for his untiring effort in organising such an event in Australia . The main objective of the walk was to create an Awareness on Mahatma Gandhi’s principle of peace and nonviolence and his love for the poor and the underprivileged.
The walk started on 17Th of Sept’08 from Caboolture , Australia and ended at the City Hall, Brisbane on 21st Sept’08, the international Day of Peace. We three from India ( Jayanta Barman, Uttam Teron and Biju Borbaruah), representing the Friends of Assam and Seven Sisters (FASS), were fortunate to be the part of the walkers.. It was in the Apex park, Caboolture where the walk got started at 9am in the morning and proceeded along the Deception Bay Road . There was interaction with the students and teachers of Morayfield State School ,. where we had a stopover for about one hour. Garvin Brown in his speech highlighted the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi and spoke about the schools for underprivileged children in India . The next day it was the Sand Gate High School where we entered. for a brief period. The students of the school joined us in the walk through the street. It was a memorable event where the Australian students carrying the portraits of Mahatma Gandhi marched through the streets of Australia . The walk finally ended on 21st Sept at the City hall Brisbane . where about 50 people gathered to listen to Garvin Brown and the Walkers from India . The works of Uttam and Biju in India inspired many in Australia.and as the meeting ended with a speech from Jayanta, commitments were made for future ties with Australia .
Staging of walk through the streets of Australia was possible due to the hard work of Richard Cowley, convener for International Day of Peace. We thankfully acknowledge the donation of A$ 150 from Richard towards the schools for underprivileged children in the North East India. We are thankful to the Australian people for their warm hospitality and support to our cause Here we would like to mention Mr Leon Gregg and Mrs Gweneth Gregg who were kind enough to host our overnight stay at Moorooka before starting of the walk. We are also thankful to the African women’s organisation for inviting us to a dinner in a restaurant run by Eritrean women where many distinguished personalities were present.. They also made some fund raising for Uttam and Biju.
The Gujrati Association in Brisbane organised a felicitation programme for us.Mr Anil G Bakrania was kind enough to introduce us to the members of the Association.and obliged us with a grand party offering Lunch.. Garvin, myself and Biju addressed the gathering of about 60 people. We are thankful to all the members of the association for their noble gesture and the fund they have raised for the underprivileged children of N E India.
During our stay in Australia we met some families belonging to the North East India who came forward with helping hands.. Mr and Mrs Jeetu Das of Gold Coast was one such family who have joined the walk in Brisbane and took care of our journey, food and transport.
On 25th of Sept we made a trip to Sydney on an invitation from Mr & Mrs Kamalesh Goswami of Sydney who were kind enough to host our stay.. Kamalesh had organised a get together of the Assamese residents in Sydney where we could present a picture of the works undertaken for the welfare of the underprivileged children of the North East India. An amount of Au$520 was raised for us which we thankfully acknowledged. We are thankful to Smt Sikha Chowdhary, Programs Manager for Ethnic Child care, Family and Community Services, Australia , who took keen interest on the works of Uttam and Biju and promised future networks. . We were pleased to meet about 20 Assamese families of Sydney including Dr &Mrs Prakash Sarma who are the senior most Assamese resident of Sydney .
Finally we want express our deep sense of gratitude to Mr and Mrs Garvin Brown of Queens Land, for their untiring effort to do some thing for the poor and the under privileged. We look forward for more and more cooperation and support in future from all quarters to make the journey for the welfare of the underprivileged.
Thanking you,
Regards

Jayanta Barman
Executive Vice President,
Friends of Assam and Seven Sisters (FASS)
24, A.K. Azad road, Rehabari, Guwahati-781008, INDIA
Ph- 91-361-2544385®.
91-94351-46880 ( M)
91-361-2510837 ( Fax)
e-mail : jayantbarman@yahoo.co.in