Kyriakos Malathounis has been working with bees since he was five years old. Now 87, he maintains hives in his backyard in Windsor and spends most of his days tending to his garden and of course, his bees.
“I’m like a doctor who keeps notes on his patients and who knows all about them,” Malathounis told Broadsheet.
“I watch my bees and know what they need and when it’s time to build a new hive. Every hive has its own personality.”
Malathounis, who sells his honey under the name Mr Mala, grew up on the island of Imbros, when it still belonged to Greece and had an entirely Greek population. In 1970, it was officially renamed Gokceada and became part of Turkey, eventually leading to a mass exodus of the original residents.
Malathounis is one of seven siblings. His father died at a young age and according to Broadsheet, Malathounis started helping his mother with the bees.
Malathounis’ bees. Photo: Pete Dillon.
She had hives hanging from trees around their property but Malathounis thought there was a better way of housing the bees and set about constructing pine boxes that sat on the ground, had a lid and a series of frames that hung like folders in a filing cabinet.
While the first beehive was almost a disaster, as Malathounis grew older and the years passed, he was working with 350 hives, producing 15 tonnes of honey a year and trading his product across Europe.
Malathounis at home in Windsor. Photo: Pete Dillon.
In the 1960s, the Turkish government – by then in charge of the administration of Imbros – increasingly took measures to marginalise the Greek population, leading to the aforementioned exodus.
According to Broadsheet, Malathounis was in his thirties and decided to move to Australia. When he first arrived, he was unable to make money from selling his honey so decided to work on the production line at General Motors Holden.
Then, having trained as a chef in the Greek army, he cooked at Kaliva in Richmond for 23 years. But he always kept his hives and vegetable garden going.
In winter, he makes the hanging wooden frames for his beehives – the same model he designed on Imbros when he was 12. Only these days, the hives are painted cream and burgundy, like his Edwardian-style house. By summer the frames are filled with honeycomb.
“If you get a good summer, you’ll be bringing honey out every week,” he concludes.
Mr Mala honey is available online or through Whisked at Prahran Market.
Stelios Kazantzidis was one of the most beloved Greek music performers of the modern era. The singer was mostly known for his heavy voice which gave a modern spin to the traditional rembetika, seeing him quickly rise in popularity and spark a whole new wave of musicians.
Some of his most well-known tracks include “Afti I Nihta Menei” (“This Night Remains”), “To Poukamiso”, (“The Shirt”) and “Prosefhi” (“Prayer”). Written below are six of the most important facts that you should know about the artist.
1. He was born on August 29, 1931, and raised in the Athenian suburb of Nea Ionia, where he began working at a local factory. One day, his boss, who believed in young Stelios’ vocal skills, gifted him with a guitar for his birthday and that was all it took for his musical career to take off. One day, a local tavern owner heard Kazantzidis play the organ while singing and recommended he come and play at his restaurant to entertain the customers.
2. His first track recording was entirely unsuccessful. It was a song for Columbia Records dubbed “Gia Mpanio Pas” (“You’re Going For A Swim”). It was his second, a song written by Giannis Papaioannou called “I Valitses” (“The Suitcases”) that helped elevate his career as an artist.
Kazantzidi was best known for his modern spin to traditional rembetika.
3. Kazantzidis was also quite popular with the opposite sex. In the late 50’s, he was engaged to fellow musician Kaiti Gkrey, while further down the line he would tie the knot with Marinella. Neither of those relationships were meant to last however, yet his third marriage with Kyra-Vasso, was the one meant to last.
4. At 1965, while Kazantzidis was at the highest point of his career, he made the decision to pull away from all live performances and acts, something that he stuck with until the end of his life. He continued to release albums however, which remained highly successful.
5. Kazantzidis was a musical icon for the people of Israel, with many of his tracks being translated to Hebrew. As some journalists from the country have pointed out, the reason behind this was the performer’s impeccable ability to combine joy with sorrow in his songs. Kazantzidis also sang in Turkish.
6. He passed away on September 14 2001 due to a brain tumor, with the entire nation mourning his loss.
Ancient Greek storytellers were well known for creating myths and fables which usually included one man’s rise through a series of challenges to eventually become a legend who’s name would be sung throughout the land.
Whether these legends were based on reality or they were simply born from within the imagination of their creators, such as the epic poet Homer, we’ll never know. But some of these mythological beings have survived until today and their conquests have gone on to inspire many artists and creators, while a few of them even had Hollywood blockbuster film adaptations!
Written below are ten of the most commonly known figures from Greek mythology, in descending order. We’ll begin our list with our most famous heroes and save some of the hidden gems for the end.
Hercules slays the Lernean Hydra. Source: HowStuffWorks
Hercules/Herakles: Okay, who hasn’t heard of this name? Be it from the famous TV series starring Kevin Sorbo, or via the Pixar film in which he is brought to life thanks to the talents of Tate Donovan, Hercules is a figure that everyone has seen somewhere at least once in their life.
The son of the king of the twelve gods of ancient Greece Zeus and the mortal woman Alcmene, Hercules was half-man, half-god himself. Due to the irrational hatred of his step-mother Hera, Hercules was forced to go through a number of trials, more commonly referred to as “labours.”
The story of how he was able to overcome these twelve trials, including slaying and capturing a number of mythological beasts, are why Hercules is considered one of the greatest heroes to emerge from the Greek history books.
Achilleas/Achilles: When they ask Brad Pitt to personify you in the movie version of your own life, you know you must be a big deal! Achilles was one of the heroes that Homer brought to life in the first of his two epics, the Iliad.
Within the story, Achilles is portrayed as the greatest general of the Greek army which had been sent to Troy to help them take over the city and bring back Helen, the queen of Sparta, who had been seduced by the Trojan prince Paris.
After a series of events that resulted in the death of his best friend Patroklos, Achilles was so enraged that even the gods themselves could not stop him from hunting down the man responsible and general of the Trojan forces, Hector. Eventually he is said to have died by an arrow to the heel by Paris, which is how the famous phrase “Achilles’ heel” was born.
One of the greatest figures of the Trojan war, Achilles. Source: Guardiaa
Odysseas: The protagonist who emerged from the pages of Homer’s second book, the Odyssey, Odysseas was also a warrior who had fought in the Trojan wars. After the end of the conflict, he decided to make his way home, yet he would discover that was no simple task.
Going through a number of ordeals including escaping from seductive sirens, fighting with titans and a trip to the afterlife, Odysseas finally made it back to his homeland of Ithaca, only to find his beloved Penelope surrounded by a number of suitors. After casually slaying them, they all lived happily ever after!
Perseus: Before Hercules came along, there was Perseus to take care of man-eating beasts! Son of Zeus and the mortal woman Danae, Perseus also possessed the qualities of a half-god, including the inhuman strength that gave him the potential to accomplish incredible feats.
Most notable among them was the slaying of the Gorgon Medusa, a mortal beast which had the ability to turn all men to stone with merely a glare, thanks to the weapons that were bestowed upon him by the gods.
Hector: A warrior who made a name for himself during the Trojan wars, in which he is said to have slayed over 31,000 men. He was the greatest soldier of Troy and the man who took down Patroklos, Achilles’ greatest friend.
Despite his courage and renowned fame, he eventually met his end at the hands of an enraged Achilles, who eventually caught up to him, butchering him and tying his corpse onto his carriage.
A sculpture of Theseus slaying a Centaur. Source: Highbrow
Theseus: The story of Theseus and the Minotaur is one of the most commonly known tales in the isle of Crete. After a battle between the Cretans and the Athenians saw the islanders emerge as the victors, the king of Crete, Minos, demanded a yearly sacrifice for the beast that lived within the labyrinth which was created by Daedalos, the half-man, half-bull Minotaur.
One of the men who volunteered to slay the creature was none other than the king of Athens Aegeus’ son, Theseus. Overcoming the beast thanks to clever strategy and some useful advice from Ariadne, king Minos’ daughter, Theseus returned to Athens to take over as king.
Prometheus: Although Prometheus, the son of Iapetus and Clymene was no mortal, his deeds speak for themselves. Belonging to the titan tribe, he was said to be the one responsible for bringing the humans into existence by using clay and for creating their first civilizations by gifting them with fire, which he had stolen from the gods.
Yet they did not stand idly by after this betrayal. Prometheus’ punishment would be severe as he was tied to a giant boulder with an eagle coming down and eating his entrails, which would grow back the next day, only for the bird to fly back and feed on him once again in an eternal, vicious cycle. He was eventually released by Hercules.
Orpheus: Orpheus was a renowned musician and poet. He rose to mythological status when he travelled to the underworld in an attempt to find his wife, Eurydice, who had been killed by a venomous snake bite to the heel.
As he mourned for her through the sounds of his harp, he was able to soften the heart of even the king of the underworld, Hades, who decided to allow Eurydice to go back to the world of the living as long as Orpheus did not turn around to look at her until after they had reached the surface. Filled with anticipation, the young harpist could not contain himself and lost his loved one for good.
Orpheus attempts to flee the underworld with his beloved Eurydice. Source: Greek Myth Wikia
Jason: Jason was the son of Aeson and rightful heir to the kingdom of Iolcos (today’s city of Volos). When he entered the town to claim his place on the throne from his step-uncle and usurper of the crown, Pelias, he was simply announced as “a man with one sandal.”
In an attempt to rid himself of him, Pelias sent him on a seemingly impossible quest to find the Golden Fleece, yet Jason readily took on this challenge. He assembled his crew and took to the seas in search of the treasure. Some of the most notable members to join Jason on his mission were: Hercules, Orpheus, Atalanta and the Dioskouroi brothers, Castor and Polydevkis.
Atalanta: Atalanta is one of the greatest heroines of Greek mythology. She is mostly known for being among Jason’s crew members on the hunt for the Golden Fleece, but also for slaying the Calydonian Boar.
However, she was also a bit of a tragic figure as she was said to have incurred the wrath of the goddess Aphrodite for choosing instead to worship Artemis, the goddess of the hunt. This made Aphrodite mad and she inflicted both Atalanta and Ippomenes with sexual desire.
They ended up making love in one of Zeus’ temples, a forbidden act which enraged the king of the gods who responded by morphing them both into lions. During the age of Greek mythology, it was said that two lions could never mate with each other, so this was the ideal punishment for the two, who would now remain forever apart.
New South Wales is in its toughest lockdown since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and this has led to the closure of many small businesses and thousands of people losing their jobs and financial security.
In response, Greek Orthodox churches across the state have decided to do their part and support those impacted the hardest by the lockdown. Whether that is through a home cooked meal, food and hygiene packages, or even just offering some form of social connection, every action is making a difference.
Here are some of the initiatives launched by the All Saints Parish and Community in Belmore, the Saints Raphael, Nicholas and Irene Parish and Community in Liverpool and the St Nectarios Parish and Community in Burwood:
Mother Maria of Paris Mission – Belmore:
The All Saints Greek Orthodox Parish and Community in Belmore have been working hard during the lockdown to help those in need through the ‘Mother Maria of Paris Mission.’
Cooks of the Mother Maria of Paris Mission at Belmore. Photo: Andriana Simos.
This mission, which is running with the blessing of His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia and under the guidance of His Grace Bishop Emilianos of Meloa, sees volunteers from the Parish cook about 100 homemade meals every Wednesday to be distributed to the local community.
“We cook for Riverwood Community Centre, Belmore Youth Resource Centre here and obviously anybody else who needs food,” Jenny Hantzopoulos, who is a volunteer cook, tells The Greek Herald.
“It’s nice to give something back to the community… When you see the young teenagers, the young families and there’s elderly that need help as well, something like this is giving from your heart. It’s fulfilling. You’re just helping people in need.”
Jenny Hantzopoulos (front) and another volunteer. Photo: Andriana Simos.
As part of the mission, the All Saints Parish and Community also deliver food bags and hygiene packs to the local community and youth centres. These bags are full of groceries, tin food and vegetables which are donated by parishioners and a number of businesses such as Oz Harvest, Goods 360 and Bakers Delight in Roselands.
“We probably have a list of about 50 families so far that we’re supporting and the list is growing by the day,” Chris Constanti, a mission coordinator, tells The Greek Herald, while thanking the community and businesses listed above for their support.
“It’s not about Greek people, it’s not about where you live or what colour you are, it’s about supporting people in the community.”
This Mission has been so successful it has seen the Parish coordinate with other churches at St Euphemia in Bankstown, St Therapon in Thornleigh, St Ioannis in Parramatta and St Paraskevi in Blacktown as well. All Saints Grammar School, St Catherine’s in Mascot and the Archangel Michael in Crowsnest also support the program.
If you would like to donate to the Mother Maria of Paris Mission you can contact Belmore church on 02 9789 1659 or 0451 936 868.
Donations at Belmore. Photo: Andriana Simos.
The Cottage Kitchen – Burwood:
The St Nectarios Greek Orthodox Parish and Community in Burwood has been running The Cottage Kitchen during lockdown. This program provides free home cooked meals every Monday to the vulnerable and those in need. Meals are prepared and delivered in the local area in a Covid-safe way by volunteers.
Launched last year as a result of a $5,000 grant from Multicultural NSW, The Cottage Kitchen has since secured a further $10,000 in grants from the organisation, as well as donations from generous community members. This has all helped keep the service going on a regular basis.
Home-made food prepared by The Cottage Kitchen. Photo supplied.
“We are grateful for their support,” Christina Efthymiades, Board Secretary of the Parish and Community, tells The Greek Herald.
“We’re also currently working with Burwood Council who is contacting local grocery retailers to seek support for those in need during this health crisis.
“Shoppers will be encouraged to donate groceries for those who need assistance and our Parish and Community will be one of the local charities that distributes these groceries to those facing hard times. We will be announcing details as soon as plans are finalised.”
Volunteers at The Cottage Kitchen. NOTE: Photo taken prior to NSW lockdown. Photo supplied.
The Parish and Community has also effectively pivoted to online services with Greek School, Youth In Action, fortnightly lectures, fortnightly bible study and Church services, all available online.
Anyone in need, or facing particular challenges, can contact the Parish Priest, Father George Liangas on 0415 124 709 or the Ladies Philoptochos, Christina Scalone on 0418 612 187.
The Ark of Love – Liverpool:
Saints Raphael, Nicholas and Irene Greek Orthodox Parish and Community in Liverpool are also playing their part during the lockdown with the recent launch of their program, Ark of Love.
The Ark of Love is like a ‘grocery store’ where people in need are given bags containing non-perishable items donated by locals, and a box of fruit and vegetables provided by FoodBank and delivered by the Australian Defence Force to the church grounds.
Food is delivered by the Australian Defence Force to the church grounds. Photos: Facebook.
“The Ark of Love was established about two weeks ago and its purpose was solely to provide assistance to all those people, both Greek and non-Greek, Orthodox Christian or any denomination, any faith system or no faith system,” Liverpool parish priest, Father Asterios, tells The Greek Herald.
“So if you were to call and say, ‘Father I need assistance,’ I would ask one of our members or myself to prepare a box depending on how many people are in the family and what their needs are.
“That is then given to one of our people that is part of the Philoptochos and other volunteers and it is delivered to that particular family… and they create a relationship with that family and look after that family with any needs they have.”
The ‘grocery store’ and food bags. Photos: Facebook.
This personal service is also seen through the Parish’s feeding program, which has been running for three nights a week and distributes about 60 home cooked meals to the homeless and vulnerable people.
Father Asterios says all these initiatives wouldn’t be possible without the support and collaboration of the Parish Committee, Philoptochos and local community, and encourages anyone who wants to donate to reach out.
“My thanks to everyone, not just from the Liverpool district, but everyone who has supported the Ark of Love and continues to. Our Committee and the Philoptochos have been working together so wonderfully to support all people in this very difficult time,” Father Asterios concludes.
If you would like to donate to the Ark of Love, you can contact Father Asterios on 0404 209 844 or email: Father@straphael.org.au.
*Note: This is not an extensive list of all church initiatives available across Greater Sydney.
Greek Australian, Marie Kargiotis, has been named among the top ten best home stylists in South Australia by The Advertiser.
To mark the honour, Kargiotis, who goes by the Instagram handle ‘thestylistloves,’ shared her experience in the industry and some styling tips and tricks to try at home yourself.
1.What makes a good stylist?
Understanding what your client wants and delivering a space that is their personal style elevated.
2. Most lavish project you have worked on to date?
I’ve been lucky enough to work on a few: An ensuite with rain shower and body jets. The shower tap ware alone cost over $7000; A luxury yacht straight from the Paris boat show; A full house renovation for a global supermodel.
The Stylist Loves. Picture: The Advertiser.
3. What are you currently working on?
Two luxury kitchen renovations, a home office fit-out and multiple interior styling clients. Also, my own property. It’s a Mid Century home getting a total renovation in a modern Palm Springs style.
4. What’s your best tip for styling your home?
Always add your personality to your home. Bring out those photos you’ve been wanting to frame, memorabilia, items collected on travels, heirlooms or just those items that represent a personal memory or speak of what you love.
These pieces are a reflection of you and are key to making your house a home. A beautifully styled home is nothing but a display home without your personality added.
Juliana Charpantidou will give a lecture in Greek entitled ‘Who is Greek? – The revolutionary definition of Greek identity,’ on Thursday 2 September, at 7.00pm, as part of the Greek History and Culture Seminars offered by the Greek Community of Melbourne.
Immediately after the proclamation of the request for the establishment of a state, one of the most important challenges that the Greek revolutionary leadership was called upon to solve was the search and selection of criteria for determining the identity of a Greek citizen.
The work of elaborating the institutional framework of Greek citizenship was characterised by conflicts and controversies due to the process of transition from the Greek cultural nation that emerged in the modern Greek Enlightenment to the coveted independent nation-state.
Among the urgent priorities of the revolutionary leadership were the separation of the members of the new state from its enemies and the emergence of the national character of the revolution in order to obtain the necessary consent and legitimacy of the Great Powers of Europe.
In the first critical stages in the evolution of Greek citizenship through the constitutional texts of the revolutionary national assemblies, we will examine the set criteria, historical conditions, political needs and aspirations that defined them as well as the legacy of dividing the Greek nation into three subsets: the Greeks within the Greek state, the “unredeemed” of the Ottoman Empire and the Greeks of the Diaspora.
Juliana is a graduate of the School of Management and Economics of ATEI Thessaloniki, and a graduate of the Department of Sociology of Panteion University where she holds Master’s Degree with a specialization in Social Exclusion and Minorities. Her Master’s thesis was on “Narratives of former members of the Communist Party of Greece” and concerned the reconstruction of political identities through the methodological approach of biographical narrative.
From 2014 to 2018 she worked at the Greek Community of Melbourne as a researcher of its history and archives where hopefully a published monograph of this research will appear in the near future. This was the reason for the continuation of her academic research on the subject of the Organization of the Greek Diaspora in Australia through the framework of the preparation of her Doctoral Thesis at Panteion University. In the past she has worked in management positions of European programs at the Pedagogical Institute of the Ministry of Education and Religion of Greece.
When: Thursday 2 September 2021, 7pm
Where: This is an online lecture and can be followed on Facebook and Youtube
Greece is working with UNESCO and the European Union to help protect the National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul amid concerns for the safety of its artifacts following the country’s takeover by the Taliban, Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said on Monday, during a meeting with a former Afghan counterpart.
“No one, right now, can guarantee the safety either of the thousands of objects at the Kabul museum or of the treasures of Bactria that were brought to light by Greek archaeologist Victor Sarigiannidis,” Afghanistan’s ex-culture minister, Omar Sultan, said after meeting with Mendoni in Athens on Monday evening.
The National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul.
Greece donated some 750,000 euros towards the restoration of the museum in 2003 and contributed to the conservation and exhibition of its valuable artifacts, which include thousands of findings from Bactria, an ancient country stretching across parts of what are now Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
Last week, UNESCO, the United Nations’ cultural agency, issued a statement calling for the protection from “damage and looting, of Afghanistan’s “rich and diverse” cultural heritage, stressing that it is “an integral part of Afghan history and identity, as well as of importance for humanity as a whole.”
The Floreat Athena club in West Australia will celebrate its 70th anniversary at the E&D Litis Stadium this weekend.
Players, staff, and supporters will attend a dinner on Saturday night to commemorate the club’s volunteers, founders, members, and club legends.
Athena was formed in 1951 and was a hub for the Greek migrant community to meet and socialize.
Murdoch University Melville coach and former player Taki Nicolaidis recalls growing up in this environment.
“I was a mascot and my first real memory was walking out with the team with the full kit on,” he says.
Taki Nicolaidis (Photo: via Inglewood United FC)
“I was seven years old when Athena won their first title in 1977. It’s not until later when you reflect back and realise you were there on that day, the whole family was celebrating, and how big an event it was for the club and the Greek community.
“I played all my juniors there from age five. Back then, generally, if you were Greek, the only team you would play for was Athena, which was the case for me.
“In those days, it was very cultural with the first generation of immigrants and the kids growing up would be pushed into football… If you were Greek, you’d be at Athena or Kingsway, if you were Macedonian, it would be Stirling.”
Athena would later become home to household names such as Stan Lazaridis and Vas Kalogeracos in state football.
Athena would later become home to household names such as Stan Lazaridis and Vas Kalogeracos in state football (Left: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images) (Right: Perth Glory FC on Twitter)
Floreat remains one of the state’s powerhouse clubs, even though the league has evaded them since 2007.
Recently, the club has won three State Cups in five seasons, including this year, several Night Series Finals, and are also the reigning Top Four Cup holders.
One of the highlights of Saturday’s 70th celebrations will be the unveiling of the ‘Athena Dream Team’ which will help to tie the past together with the present.
Ludovic Boi is the club’s current longest-serving player and has good words for Floreat.
“The Greek community come down, the old boys are playing poker, the kids come down, people enjoy the food, and the club keep that culture going,” he says.
“It’s a big weekend for the club to reach 70 years.”
“It’s a great club with a great history and I can only sit back with excitement to see where the club continues to go.”
Federal Labor Leader, Anthony Albanese, along with the President and Board members of the Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria (GCM) held a meeting on Friday morning organised by Peter Khalil MP.
During the meeting, the President of the GCM, Bill Papastergiadis, stressed to Mr Albanese the need for clear guidance from the government on Australia’s borders, vaccination passports, education and quarantining at home.
Mr Albanese agreed and said that although he supports the Federal Government’s National Recovery Plan, Australia does need to open borders at some stage and further support community languages and multicultural communities.
International borders:
On the topic of borders, Mr Albanese was asked about the Labor Government’s plans to help those members of the Greek community, who wish to return to Greece to live or visit ill family members but are not allowed to leave Australia.
“We need to recognise people as human beings and individuals with real needs and for many of them, it is so important that they are able to visit relatives,” the Labor Leader said.
“They’re going with the knowledge that there might be a problem with them coming back. They’re adults, they’re able to make those decisions. I think there needs to be more compassion shown there as well.”
Mr Albanese went on to say the Labor Government have made representations for people to try to visit their loved ones overseas, but it’s proven to be ‘very difficult.’
He also gave a personal example of how he understands people’s frustration with the border restrictions as he himself was unable to attend his father’s funeral in Italy in 2014.
If Scott Morrison had ordered enough vaccines, we wouldn’t be facing endless lockdowns.
We’d be with our families, friends and colleagues feeling safe.
“I don’t understand how in some cases you see some people who seem to be able to just come and go, and others who want to visit perhaps their mum or dad who’s not well and in some cases, let’s be honest, to say goodbye and that’s a basic human need that people have,” Mr Albanese said.
“Labor will continue to argue for an appropriate response. We understand that there are restrictions on borders… but individuals need to have personal circumstances taken into account.”
Greek Language and the Arts:
From here, the Labor Leader went on to discuss the Federal Government’s support for education, community languages and the Arts during the COVID-19 pandemic and stressed that these areas have fallen through the cracks.
“We need to support education and the Arts and it’s a real pity that they missed out on JobKeeper. A lot of the Arts, particularly in multicultural communities which can be professional but not as regular in terms of casual employment, they just missed out,” Mr Albanese said, giving an example of The Hellenic Art Theatre in Marrickville.
In saying this, Mr Albanese did commend the Greek community however, on how they have been able to maintain their Greek language and culture through generations, as well as during the pandemic.
“I think the Greek community, from my experience, is better than most, I’ll say that. With Greek language schools, with making sure that culture is there…” he said.
“One of Australia’s greatest assets is our multiculturalism… and the fact that we’re a multicultural nation with language skills needs to be seen as something which doesn’t just benefit the Greek community, in terms of the Greek language, that’s a plus for us in terms of our economy, being able to do business into the region and into the world.
“We know the world is becoming a smaller and smaller place and different language skills are so important for us.”
The meeting concluded with Mr Papastergiadis thanking Mr Albanese for this support of multiculturalism and the Greek language.
“It was a fantastic meeting. Mr Albanese gave 1.5 hours of his time today, he was in great spirits, he wanted to continue the conversation with the Greek Centre once we open up, he wanted to be at the Festival… and he’s looking forward to a meeting one-on-one,” Mr Papastergiadis told The Greek Herald after the meeting.
If you ever come across Christina Efthymiades and her walking companion, Plato the Greek Dancing Cat, at a local park in the Sydney suburb of Concord, make sure you give them a smile and wave.
They’re friendly and just doing their absolute best to raise as much funds as possible for the Sydney Cancer Survivorship Centre at Concord Hospital.
Established in 2013, the Centre is the only free clinic in Australia which offers a multidisciplinary team of professionals to support an individual’s needs following a cancer diagnosis.
Cancer survivors are able to access four pillars of support at the Centre including:
(1) a Survivorship Clinic for people with early stage cancer who have completed chemotherapy and want to see five health professionals to create a ‘survivorship care plan.’
The Sydney Cancer Survivorship Centre. Photo supplied.
(2) a Survivorship Cottage where free activities are run for cancer survivors and their families including, but not limited to, yoga, pilates, art therapy, mindfulness and card making.
(3) a Survivorship Gym run by exercise physiologists where cancer survivors can improve their fitness, strength, quality of life and also be treated for cancer symptoms such as cancer-related fatigure.
(4) and Survivorship Research where the Centre is looking to provide high-quality evidence of how best to help manage the types of issues of side effects that impact cancer survivors.
The Director of the Centre, Professor Janette Vardy, tells The Greek Herald these four pillars are necessary to ‘provide a much more holistic approach to people’s care.’
Director of the Sydney Cancer Survivorship Centre, Professor Janette Vardy. Photo supplied.
“Rather than just concentrating on ‘has a person’s cancer come back’ or the length of somebody’s survival after a cancer diagnosis, we’re looking not just at the quantity of the survival… but the quality of the survival,” Professor Vardy, who is also a medical oncologist at the Concord Cancer Centre, says.
“So we know that to improve the quality of survival, we need to look at a much more holistic approach. We’re really aiming to keep people as healthy as we can for as long as we can.”
Step Up for Cancer Survivorship:
To ensure such an essential and free service at a public hospital continues to operate, the Centre has launched the ‘Step Up for Cancer Survivorship’ campaign, which aims to get people exercising during the month of August to raise a fundraising target of $50,000.
Professor Vardy says people have really taken up the initiative even though they are ‘doing it really tough’ right now during the NSW lockdown, and stresses that all the donations are tax deductible and going towards a great cause.
“The money we’re raising is going towards being able to provide extra exercise programs for our cancer patients and they’re people at all stages of disease. Some have completed treatment and have no evidence of a cancer recurrence, others have quite advanced disease,” Professor Vardy says.
Plato the Greek Dancing Cat with Professor Vardy’s dog, Coco. Photo supplied.
For Ms Efthymiades, the decision to ‘Step Up For Cancer Survivorship’ was an easy one. The Concord local has always been an active supporter of cancer research, having co-founded The Bloody Great Committee in 2013 (now the Foundation for a Bloody Great Cause) and raising funds for the world-leading blood cancer clinical trials at Concord Hospital.
So when her business, Laconic PR + Communications, was called upon to assist with communications for the Centre’s ‘Step Up’ campaign, she jumped at the chance to get involved in a practical way as well.
“I took it as an opportunity to stay fit and healthy myself but then get behind the charity as well, which I think is a great cause,” Ms Efthymiades tells The Greek Herald exclusively.
The 51-year-old didn’t want to exercise by herself however, so she decided to get creative and asked her friend Plato the Greek Dancing Cat to walk with her as well.
Christina Efthymiades and Plato the Greek Dancing Cat out on their walk. Photo supplied.
Plato first came on the scene during the online classes offered by Ms Efthymiades’ dancing group, The Nassibian Dancers, this year and she says she couldn’t do the fundraising without him.
“I really just want to get the Greek community behind us. I would love to see Plato the Greek Dancing Cat take out the leader board,” Ms Efthymiades says.
“I recognise it’s a really challenging time for a lot of people at the moment. I also know that it’s a time of people being really, really generous to try to help others. So if they can direct some of this generosity to cancer survivors, why not!”
If you would like to donate to Ms Efthymiades’ fundraising page, you can find that here.
