Many of the choir members fled from war and rape. Some spent up to 15 years in refugee camps in neighbouring countries such as Ghana and Guinea. Arriving in Australia with the scars of the past experiences and traumatised by the war that engulfed their countries, they set up the choir as a way to break anxiety and isolation due to cultural differences in their new adopted country.  It is also to heal the gruesome experiences of the past.

“When you are out of your culture, you are never be sure (of what they do) but through their performances, they know that Australia values their culture as well,” said Therese Virtue, the Boite World Music Café coordinator. Boite is a not for profit organisation that promotes migrant or refugee artists who fled their homelands looking for a new life in Australia. 

“For them, singing is a way to relieve worries. The members brought songs from different places and sang in different languages. They also sing church songs in English (that) help them to get through their experience in refugee camps,” Ms Virtue said.

One of the events they performed at was on June 9, 2009, to mark the 5^th anniversary of Portland House Foundation, a not for profit organisation that funds activities of community organisations in Victoria.

One of their grant recipients is Foundation House, who provide services to people from refugee backgrounds whom have survived torture or war related trauma. Foundation House has supported the choir for over three years and the Boite Cafe trains them.

They were full of joy as they were singing and dancing, moving backward and forward and gently swaying their hands from left to right while walking in the aisles between rows of benches at White Church in Collins Street that evening.  The performance drew the audience’s attention and hand claps with the rhythm of a drum that accompanied the performance. 

Formed 22 years ago, the Portland Foundation has now provided funding to 80 organisations in Victoria.  Since 2005, the foundation has a new charter that started to focus to fund projects and build partnerships with organisations that work on broad ranging aspects of homelessness. The projects range from finding jobs and providing scholarships for young people in disadvantaged and indigenous communities.

“We focus on the issue of homelessness, because we want to respond to particular needs in the community, it gives us a focus that is a broad enough area to be valued,” said Stephen Hains, Portland Foundation chairman. “This also means that we can say no to any proposal that do not fit into the charter.” 

For the choir, the support they gained from Portland House Foundation has helped them a lot. They have been invited to perform at different public events and it is quite therapeutic andsomething that makes the members feel proud. At present, they also recruit younger generations in the community.

Akech Manyiel, Thomas Abeil and Pamela Scriven are participant of yarraReporter, a civic journalism training that is also funded by Portland Foundation.