St Paul’s African House is a not-for-profit community organisation located in Greater Shepparton in Northern Victoria, Australia. We work together to create a brighter future for the African Communities of Greater Shepparton.
Culture
We are a safe, welcoming space where all people who identify with African cultures can gather to preserve, honour, celebrate, and pass on African cultures through stories, music, dance, food and fellowship.
Capacity
We provide and support capacity building for people of African heritage to assist them to participate successfully and fully in the wider Goulburn Valley community,
Community
We work with our community offering opportunities to engage positively and build relationships with people of African heritage.
Vision
To provide a space where people of African heritage can celebrate, grow and thrive.
Mission
To work together to build a brighter future for people of African heritage living in Greater Shepparton.
St Paul’s African House:
- is a safe, welcoming space where all people who identify with African cultures can gather to preserve, honour, celebrate and pass on African cultures through stories, music, dance, food and fellowship,
- provides and supports capacity building for people of African heritage to assist them to participate successfully and fully in the wider Goulburn Valley community, and
- offers members of the Goulburn Valley community opportunities to engage positively and build relationships with people of African heritage.
Working with the community to:
- Maintain an energetic and highly capable team of volunteers to help deliver programs and activities and operate and maintain the facility,
- Develop key strategic partnerships with volunteers, funders, African associations, service providers, capacity builders finding niches and specialising to help deliver programs and activities and operate and maintain the facility,
- Deliver a balance of programs and activities initiated by African House and by its partners which meet Africans’ needs in a safe, welcoming environment,
- Maintain a financially sound, well-resourced and sustainable organisation with the capacity to respond to new needs and opportunities within the African communities of the Goulburn Valley.
History of St Paul’s African House
St Paul’s African House is an outreach of the Lutheran Church. It is an initiative of the Lutheran Church of Australia, Multicultural Affairs Victoria, and the African community of Shepparton, established in late 2014 and was made possible through funding from the Victorian Government’s Cultural Precincts and Community Infrastructure Fund and generous donations received by St Paul’s Lutheran Church including a private $1 million donation from a Lutheran couple. St Paul’s Lutheran Church was previously in a small building and needed to move location to accommodate for its growing congregation due to then-recent arrivals of Congolese and Burundian refugees. The new building for St Paul’s Lutheran church provided a unique opportunity to build African House. Together with local African community members, it was recognised there was a need for a space for people of African heritage to gather, preserve and celebrate their culture and traditions, and St Paul’s African House was born.
