Daniel Mulino (Fraser, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to pay tribute to Jacob Thang, a leader of the local Chin community, which is a persecuted minority in Myanmar. Jacob arrived in Melbourne 11 years ago with his wife and toddler daughter, speaking not a word of English. He has since made an extraordinary contribution to his new community. This culminated in the Leadership Award at the 2023 Victorian Refugee Awards for his tireless work in supporting the Chin community in Melbourne's west and his community in Myanmar.

Jacob founded Chin-Myanmar Community Care, a not-for-profit that provides employment, education and training support, settlement assistance, advocacy, referral advice and more. Chin-Myanmar Community Care also runs a candle-making factory in partnership with Kenshi Life Changing Candles and reinvests all the profits back into the community. Jacob is also the CEO of the social enterprise AusChin Group, a garden, maintenance and landscaping company that won the Innovation Award in last month's 2023 We Are Brimbank Awards. The idea for the landscaping company was sparked after he and a handful of members of the Chin community took part in a Brotherhood of St Laurence sponsored program, which included pre-employment training and work experience with Maribyrnong Council's parks and gardens unit at the Maidstone Community Centre. After it finished, a council officer volunteered to mentor the men and develop a business plan for a garden maintenance business. A crowdfunding campaign provided some seed money for the new social enterprise. Jacob also worked night shifts in a factory for 12 months while gardening during the day to really get the business off the ground.

The company now employs 32 people, most of whom are from the Chin community. It also donates half of its profits to Chin-Myanmar Community Care to further support the community. Another focus of Chin-Myanmar Community Care is on providing humanitarian aid to the camps for internally displaced people in Mizoram, a state in India, and the Chin state of Myanmar. Thanks to profits from the sale of Kenshi Life Changing Candles, 15 tonnes of rice and two tonnes of cooking oil, some four months supply, are now on their way to Jacob's village. Before being recognised as a refugee, Jacob spent more than eight years in New Delhi working 12-hour shifts in a garment factory. To top it all off, Kenshi Life Changing Candles will feature in Parliament House's gift shop as part of the National Showcase, which launches on Thursday. I've already bought one this week. Locally made products from Victoria are the first to be featured in the National Showcase. Congratulations, Jacob, for all your hard work and all the support you and your colleagues at Chin-Myanmar Community Care provide for the community.

On another issue: a spaceship crashing on earth, life forms visiting from outer space, checks of radiation levels, conversations in alien speak and even some quick-thinking improvisational skills—Intergalactic Outbreak, a story performed by students at Sunshine North Primary School, was funny, clever, creative and imaginative. All these attributes and many more are developed in students thanks to the involvement of 100 Story Building, which partners with schools in Melbourne's west to create story hubs. In these imaginative spaces, students can take creative risks and teachers can support this creativity, building students' literacy skills and confidence. Story hub schools show significant improvements in literacy levels, better curriculum outcomes, greater student engagement and increased teacher and student wellbeing. Last week, I attended the launch of 100 Story Building's newest hub at Sunshine North Primary School in conjunction with Sunshine College.

I would like to pay tribute to all of the principals, teachers and other school leaders who made this possible through their hard work over a very long period of time. Led by its passionate CEO, Susan Kukucka, the social enterprise offers programs that focus primarily on young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and those who experience socioeconomic disadvantage. Since opening in Footscray 10 years ago, 100 Story Building has reached more than 45,000 young people, aged from five to 18, and has substantially reduced educational inequality, particularly in the area of creativity.

Story hubs demonstrate the success that can be achieved when schools and philanthropic and community partners band together to tackle common challenges in under-resourced schools, and promise to reshape the landscape of education and creativity in the local communities taking part. They allow 100 Story Building to reach many more students than if they had to rely upon just their Footscray building, giving an opportunity to many more students who may not be able to travel easily. Congratulations to 100 Story Building, to the school communities that they partner with and to all of the amazing kids that bring this wonderful program to life. (Time expired)

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