Canberra Nepalese Community
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Those in Canberra’s Napalese community are warm, kind, intelligent and passionate people. This past Friday, I had the pleasure of attending the Australia Nepal Friendship Society’s 2019 Dashain Night. This event supported was by the Canberra Nepalese Football Club, the Canberra Nepalese Cricket Team, the Canberra Nepalese Volleyball Club and Non-Resident Nepali Association of the ACT and Queanbeyan.
Dashain is the longest and most auspicious Hindu festival in Nepal, traditionally observed for two weeks. It is enthusiastically celebrated across the entire country as well as by people of Nepalese background across the world, honouring the goddess Durga’s victory over evil. Dasain has emphasizes the importance of family reunions. In many ways, Dashain is to Nepalese what Christmas is to Westerners.
Last Friday night, the children had opportunities to dance and perform. It was amazing to see these children connecting with their culture and heritage through dance and music. I congratulate the parents for instilling this valuable part into their children’s lives. Congratulations to Khusbu Neupane, the President of Australia Nepalese Friendship Society, and her team for organising a wonderful event – one that many have described as beautiful and inspiring.
On Sunday the Canberra Nepalese Football Club also organised the Nepal Embassy Cup, a soccer tournament, at the Australia Institute of Sport. It was a two-day event. On the first day the weather was not too friendly, with rain and wind making it a very cold and wet day for the event organisers and the players. But the rain didn’t stop them from having fun, so they continued to play all day long. The winning teams made it to the quarter-final, semi-final and the finals on Sunday. I was there and watched the final match, an exciting game with a tied score when the time ran out.
The teams went into a shootout, with the result again being tied! According to the rule, they were allowed to flip a coin to determine the winner. Unhappy with the match game being determined by the chance of flipping a coin, both captains from each team agreed to continue having the shootout until a winner scored. Finally with much anticipation and excitement, we had a winner! It was an exciting game. Congratulations to all the players and a very special thank you to the President of Canberra Nepalese Football Club, Ashish Sapkota, and his team for organising a fantastic community soccer tournament. We look forward to next year’s tournament as well as when the Nepalese play against the Soccerroos next month at GIO stadium. Thank you.
