AFTER HUSBAND’ S RETIREMENT, SALLY MERELY TURNED A CORNER
FECCA pleads for religious freedom
March 2017 THE CANBERRA REPORTER | 3
COVER STORY
A change of purpose to serve
AFTER HUSBAND’ S RETIREMENT, SALLY MERELY TURNED A CORNER
By MARILIE BOMEDIANO
WHEN her husband Mark retired as a diplomat in 2007, Sally Barber wouldn’ t settle on becoming a woman of leisure enjoying the good life at home.
She merely took a different direction and turned her energies to helping others in need of service that she could help provide.
Although she participates actively in several projects in the ACT, Barber’ s pet is Gawad Kalinga- or GK.
She is GK’ s state director of the Philippines-based organisation with chapters worldwide and whose sole activity is to help poor people build their own homes rom community funding.
“ I was so impressed by the ideas and work of GK founder Tony Meloto that I did not have second thoughts to follow his dreams,” she says.
Barber was introduced to GK during her activities with the local chapter of another organisation, Couples For Christ.
She has been responsible for running fund-raisers such as a Games Day, Trivia Night, Garage Sales, movie nights, the latest being One Woman Show featuring award-winning fiction book author Merlinda Bobis.
During her husband’ s posting in Sweden, Sally picked up the game of
GK PROJECT
Pictured are Sally with husband Mark on the front porch of the couple’ s home with lush gardens in the suburb of Deakin
Bridge and she developed a strong attachment to the activity.
She is now a director of Canberra Bridge Club and active in organising regular games.
Barber is also treasurer of the Philippine-Australian Association in Canberra, ex-officio member of the Women’ s International Club, a member of the Commonwealth Club, and an active member of the foreign affairs wives’ group, the Diplomatic Contact Group whose main role is to welcome new diplomats’ spouses to Canberra.
An ability to focus diligently on every project she tackles
Sally developed a booklet‘ Welcome to Canberra’ which contains relevant information about Canberra for distribution to spouses of newly arrived diplomats.
Born and educated in Manila, Philippines, Sally met husband Mark in 1983 when he was posted at the
Australian embassy there. They were married in 1984.
Mark’ s postings then followed- after the couple’ s only daughter Laura was born- to Argentina, Sweden, Borneo, and New Zealand. He retired in 2007, and the couple settled in the leafy Canberra suburb of Deakin.
What’ s even more remarkable about Sally is her ability to focus diligently on each project and activity to which she is involved.
And she appears to find the time to accommodate further requests for her service. •
Haiyan typhoon victms back in new homes at last
NATIONAL
Push for public housing rethink
THE low return on taxpayerfunded investment in affordable public housing demands a rethink on Commonwealth-State government funding programs, said the Housing Industry Association( HIA).
The National Affordable Housing Agreement( NAHA) between the Commonwealth and State and Territory Governments had failed to deliver on its targets by a long shot, according to HIA’ s deputy managing director Graham Wolfe.
“ The NAHA agreement, which commenced in 2009 with much fanfare about addressing lowerincome rental stress, housing affordability and homelessness has fallen well short of its performance benchmarks,” Wolfe said.
“ The billions of dollars that has passed through the program should have delivered much more in affordable housing outcomes.”
“ The number of low income households living in rental stress, for example, has grown by over 20 per cent nationally in the six years to 2013-14.
“ The NAHA agreement targeted a reduction of 10 per cent.”
At a time when housing affordability is under significant pressure across Australia, governments need to do more to help low and moderate income families into suitable accommodation,” Wolfe said.•
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: Top, GK homes completed construction ready for families to move in. Above, new gymnasium.
MORE than 245 families, displaced after super-typhoon Haiyan( Yolanda) hit southern Philippines in 2013, began rebuilding their lives in new homes recently, thanks in a small part to the ACT region’ s Gawad Kalinga( GK) chapter.
What made it all possible was a $ 1million grant by the Australian Government to GK Philippines in 2015 for reconstruction and rehabilitation of the municipality of Palo, in the island of Leyte, which took the brunt of Haiyan.
Palo’ s Red Beach was the scene of US General Douglas MacArthur’ s famous landing on October 20, 1944 to start the Philippines’ liberation from Japanese occupation.
LOCAL
The government grant was made through the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade( DFAT), and managed by local government units of Palo and Tacloban, GK, Philippine Red Cross, and Catholic Relief Services.
Further contribution of the ACT region has been to GK’ s‘ Kusina Ng Kalinga’ program to feed children in the Philippines.
Regional director Sally Barber organised two fund-raising events – a Trivia Night and a One-Woman Show with award-winning author Merlinda Bobis. Combined, the events – which raised $ 3,000.
Each dollar raised would feed two children. •
NBN connecting more homes
FILIPINO-Australian families welcome an announcement that thousands more ACT properties will be connected to the National Broadband Network( NBN) over the next two years with completion due in 2019.
Areas under construction will be able to access the network from late April up to August this year. The NBN website showed that Tuggeranong will be connected in the second half of 2018.
Fyshwick businesses will have to wait until the first half of 2019. The“ check your address” tool includes technology types with a suburb’ s profile,•
FECCA pleads for religious freedom
RESIST any legislation designed to curb the freedom of religious practicef, pleaded chairman Joe Caputo of the Federal Ethnic Community Councils of Australia.
Caputo’ s plea came in a submission to the Federal Parliamentary Inquiry into the status of the human right to freedom of religion or belief. •
PinOz Kate lights up a summer night
By MARILIE BOMEDIANO
OUR very own Kate Ceberano came to light up Canberra’ s annual National Multicultural Festival at Civic Square on Friday, March 17.
The pop diva, jazz singer and songwriter was the headline entertainment act on the Garema Place stage with Wiradjuri, Bollywood, Andrew Kirwin, Miriam Leiberman, The Borders, and Sol Nation.
At one point Ceberano, the‘ face;’ of the festival’ s concert, remarked:“ I hope Filipinos are represented here, because my father is Filipino and I love Filipino food.”
Her music was about life, family and things that touched Ceberano’ s audience.
Indeed, it was a celebration of culture and music that suited the Filipino- Australian artist to a‘ T’.•