Manveer Singh image

Piara Waters is my village and my child is my community

My love affair with Piara Waters began almost 10 years ago when I chose the suburb to build my house. But I was concerned if I had made the right choice—it seemed like a deserted area with no schools, shopping centres, limited transports services, and roads far from ready. Fast forward 10 years, Piara Waters is more than just a family home; I have fully embraced what is now the fastest-growing suburbs in Perth. More importantly, I am in love with the great sense of community spirit.

Being born and brought up in Malaysia with North Indian heritage, having obtained my tertiary education from the UK, and married to an Indonesian, I have been exposed to different cultures and backgrounds. Hence, it was a bonus for me to have found out that the suburb I had selected represented such diversity. The sense of community spirit provides comfort for a migrant like me, and at the same time, allows me to mentor newcomers who are struggling to integrate. In this regard, it is only natural for me to get involved in building my community.

Amongst my pet projects is the local annual Harmony Day Festival, with which I have been involved in organising the last six years.

My motivation in getting involved is not just due to my belief in giving back to the community, but more because I want to develop and nurture relationships amongst members of my community by understanding concerns and sharing ideas. This has driven my passion towards the growth of local resident neighbourhood connections.

Language has also been a key factor for me to break through within the neighbourhood circles. I take pride that as a practicing Sikh donning a turban, I am able to speak a few Asian languages which in turn allows me to interact with the local CALD community easily.

I derive great joy from helping the CALD community to participate during each Harmony Day Festival, one that showcases the rich heritage of different communities. This has led the CALD community to build confidence with the wider neighbourhood, be proud of their heritage, and naturally set up language schools within the area to pass on the rich heritage to future generations.

This same passion has allowed like-minded residents to establish official resident groups, which carry out local community projects and to contribute to help develop the suburb to reach greater heights.

As the proverb says, "it takes a village to raise a child", an entire community of people must interact with children for those children to grow in a safe and healthy environment.

Piara Waters is my village and my child is my community.

Page Last Reviewed 9 May 2023