Pastor Michael Mauu, Pastor of Breakthrough Embassy Parramatta

Malaemie Fruean, Chair of the NSW Council of Pacific Communities

Ben Sega, Vice Chair and Committee members

Representatives from Sydney Bulls Football Club

Distinguished guests, sponsors, volunteers, ladies and gentlemen

The Lord Mayor of Parramatta, His Right Worshipful Clr Paul Garrard, , regrets that he is unable to be with you today. However, he was deeply saddened by the loss of life, injury, and damage caused by the recent earthquake and tsunami that hit Samoa recently.

The Lord Mayor has asked me to convey to you his deepest condolences and to share with you his thoughts and prayers during this period of great loss.  

Here in the City of Parramatta, we are extremely proud of our Pacific Islander communities who call Parramatta and Australia home. For a very long time, this city and her people have been greatly enriched by your culture, your languages, and your friendship.

But as Australians, we believe in mateship. And as mates, as one united people, we stand side-by-side, shoulder-to-shoulder with you. And even though the strength of your community during this time has made you even more resilient to this recent tragedy, the people here this evening bears testimony to this, your pain, the aching of your hearts and the tears of your eyes are mirrored also by the rest of us you call as your mates, your friends.

The tsunami that hit Samoa sending gigantic oceans waves crashing down on around 40 villages was one of the greatest natural disasters to occur in our region. From Lalomanu, or Leone, or Voutosi, I understand that there have been losses of at least 119 lives and thousands of people directly affected.

This was a tragedy of incredible magnitude. A brutal reminder of the force of nature, yet also an opportunity to demonstrate the inspiring capacity of fellow human beings to ease the suffering of others in their hour of need.

For many, the sense of loss and deep grief is still very keen.

For others, the events of that dreadful day may be beginning to dim.

I would like to think that this is in part due to the tangible signs of reconstruction that can be seen in many of the tsunami affected areas.

But the recovery challenge facing your mother lands is still immense.

It will require a long-term commitment of resources and resolve if these cities, towns and villages are to be rebuilt and survivors provided with hope for the future. To live on, while still respecting the spirit of those who are no longer with us.

Australia too is no stranger to natural disasters. Earlier this year you will recall the devastation of the Black Saturday Bushfires in Victoria in which large numbers of lives were lost.

It warms my heart to say that the generosity of our multicultural community shone through then - as it is now - with so many local churches and communities organising special charity appeals and relief efforts.

So we are not so different after all, regardless of where we come from. We hurt and we bleed and we get back on our feet again exactly the same way.

The spontaneous outpouring of generosity from individual Samoans and Australians in the last two weeks should be a source of pride to us all.

I thank everyone here this evening for your individual and collective contributions. The money you have raised will go towards much needed reconstruction efforts such as access to clean water, sanitation facilities and disease prevention. But much more importantly, the fact that you even bothered to help, speaks volumes of the kind of decent human beings we still have in our communities.

Finally I would like to say a special thank you to all the volunteers and organisers of today’s fundraiser, particularly Jane Gibson, Noelani Netzler and Billy Opetia – by doing what we can, we continue the proud tradition of mateship, of never giving up on your friends, and supporting each other in times of need.

Thank you again for allowing me to be with you today.

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