On Friday 19 August, St Raphael’s Mission held its 10-year anniversary celebration hafleh.

The night started off with the President’s Welcome where all were thanked for their attendance and support over the last 10 years. It was highlighted that this was our collective achievement – that together, we have all achieved this milestone and are to be celebrated tonight.

Whether you donated money, food, items, or packed hampers, you have made a difference. The President also thanked His Eminence Metropolitan Basilios for all his support, guidance, and active involvement in St Raphael’s Mission as the Spiritual Advisor of the Mission and presented him with a gift of gratitude on behalf of the Board. This was followed by the His Eminence’s Address where the significance of this accomplishment was reiterated.

His Eminence explained the amount of work that has gone into the Mission and what it has overcome over the 10 years as well as the fact that we are here today thanks to the support of the community. We were also privileged to have the Minister for Seniors & Multiculturalism, The Honourable Mark Coure in attendance who addressed the audience and spoke of his experience volunteering with St Raphael’s Mission as well as the respect he had for the Mission and the impact it has had on the most vulnerable in the community.

Following this, the audience got to meet our friends through a video presentation that interviewed the people we feed which emphasised the direct impact that St Raphael’s Mission has had on the lives of these individuals and moved many in the audience.

The night continued with live Arabic music by Next entertainment who really brought the crowd to their feet with not a space on the dance floor in sight. The formalities of the night ended with the raffle draw and everyone danced the night away to the sounds of Arabic and English music.

St Raphael’s Mission would like to thank all those who sponsored or attended the night and helped to celebrate its 10-year anniversary and pray that your support will continue and grow over the next 10 years. May God reward you all a hundredfold.