News

Association of Bhutanese in Perth Incorporated (ABPI) Community Centre
Dear Members of Bhutanese Community,

We are pleased to share that the Association of Bhutanese in Perth Incorporated (ABPI) will introduce its first ABPI Community Centre coinciding the auspicious occasion on 31 January 2019. The Centre is open to all Bhutanese and we welcome you with our open heart.

The number of Bhutanese visiting and living in Western Australia (WA) has been growing at an unprecedented rate. This we feel is a confident sign of growing Bhutanese fraternity abroad and a new era of Bhutanese dreamers and visionary groups, who will contribute to Bhutan’s socio-economic in ways we have always aspired for.

All in all, we feel that as part of a society that belongs and believes in tha-dam-tshi and lay-jum-drey, it is very important to not only protect our culture but also enhance it in a way that we integrate with the Australian culture, solidify better information and communication sharing platform for our younger generations growing up abroad, connecting our elderly living in WA and of all, celebrating a focal point where we call it a “Bhutanese Community.”

With development, there are also challenges and we must be ready to embrace change. Change for better is always a choice and sharing this ideal of a Bhutanese community while growing individually will help in collective goals the most. Therefore, the ABPI team is confident that with the inception of a new Community Centre, various issues and challenges we face as a community along with our vision to look forward to will be resolved. As part of our member benefits, the Community Centre will serve the following purpose:

1. The most important element of having the Centre is that it will serve as a focal point for Bhutanese living in WA;
2. The Community Centre will serve as a one-stop-solution for information relating to house share, job prospects, assisting members in their work issues (pay and harassment among others)
3. Community Centre from where we can liaise with the Royal Bhutanese Embassy in Bangkok and also liaising with the Bhutanese Associations located in different States of Australia;
4. Host the venue for Community level pre-school Dzongkha language session;
5. Serve as a Centre for elderly living in WA to meet, greet and engage in communal bonding;
6. Serve as a Centre for youths to meet, greet and engage in communal bonding;
7. Serve as a Centre for kids to meet, greet and engage in communal bonding;
8. Hire out as celebration space to host birthday dinner and birthday parties for member;
9. Serve as a Community Centre to help our members accommodate during their rental transition;
10. Serve as a Community Centre to host guests from Bhutan;
11. Serve as a Community Centre to host spiritual programmes;
12. Serve as a Community Centre to host occasional meet-ups, gatherings and video screening among our Bhutanese community;
13. Serve as a Community Centre to hold meetings and meet other Associations in WA;
14. Serve as a focal point to help meet and interact with our Bhutanese member families living in WA to help solve issues troubling them;
15. Make it easily accessible as meeting point for Bhutanese visiting Perth from Bhutan for the first time;
16. Hold annual rimdro for Community well being in WA;
17. And other benefits which we will develop from time to time.

The benefits of having an office far outweigh the consequences and it is with much thought and confidence that we present this ABPI Community Centre for the benefit of our members and Bhutanese living in WA. We hope to ensure that this Community Centre serves the purpose and the aspirations it is borne with and look forward to your continued support on this front. This Community Centre is not an end in itself but a means to achieve our independence in being uniquely communal.

Therefore, we welcome you all to the opening of ABPI Community Centre on 31 January 2018. The tendrel will be held coinciding the visit of HE Gyalwa Dokhampa Rinpochhe who will grace the opening during this day. The details are as follows:

You may download the official announcement document here For notification ABPI office

Thank you and best regards,

Yours sincerely,

(Karma Wangchuk)
President, ABPI.
Email: perthabpi@gmail.com
www.abpiperth.com
26 January 2019