Culturally appropriate kitchen packs

18 October 2022

We are excited to be the recipients of a DISTRICT ROTARY CENTENARY GRANT celebrating 100 years of Rotary. The grant has enabled us to finally get our Culturally Appropriate Kitchen Pack Program up and running.
Last year Kara Family Violence Service worked with clients from 46 different cultural and linguistic backgrounds. In the initial days of crisis, we encourage our clients to develop routines as quickly as possible and many of these routines are underpinned by existing habits and rituals specific to their cultural heritage. Our current kitchen packs did not reflect the everyday needs of our diverse client base and we developed a project to provide this cohort with the appropriate tools to cook their different cultural foods.

In consultation with our clients and cultural representatives, we identified four regions which cover the majority of the cultural backgrounds of our clients and selected items that broadly reflect the needs of each region.
A District Rotary Centenary Grant has enabled us to get the project up and running. These packs are offered to families who come into our crisis accommodation and clients supported in transitional accomodation.

The grant will provide 30-35 packs to clients like Ashaki*:
Ashaki* was presented with her Cultural Cooking Pack when she came into refuge. Ashaki said she felt like she was receiving a beautiful birthday present. She said it was lovely to make coffee in her own Ibrik. She expressed her gratitude in receiving her own prayer mat and Quran. Many thanks to the people who are helping her.

A huge thank you to Rotary District 9810 and Anne Teese from Rotary Club of Mont Albert & Surrey Hills for assisting us with the grant. Feeling safe and stable is incredibly important in helping our client’s regain their self confidence. The Culturally Appropriate Kitchen Packs will make a significant impact in assisting our clients on their road to recovery.

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