Refugee and migrant women from different cultural backgrounds converged at MercyCare’s Wembley Early Learning Centre last month to take part in a fun evening of candle-making.
Led by centre manager Lisa Houlihan, who mastered the art of candle-making a few years ago, the idea behind the candle-making workshop was to help equip the refugee, migrant and CaLD women with new skills that they could then use to sell goods at local markets, including the Mirrabooka Community Markets led by MercyCare in partnership with The City of Stirling and The Square Mirrabooka.
While candle-making is more of a side hobby for Lisa, she jumped at the chance to share her skills with others after she was approached by MercyCare Mirabooka’s Multicultural Support Services team.
“The women came to the Wembley Early Learning Centre after hours and used our staff room which was all set up. I made little booklets for them to take home and they had a little take home kit, so I taught them how to make a candle on the night and then they had enough materials to go home and make another at home as well,” Lisa said
Ahead of the workshop, Lisa called on her little helpers at MercyCare Wembley Early Learning Centre to help divide and weigh the candle wax – a fun activity that also taught the children some early maths skills.
“They helped me do up little packs and even weighed the wax, and they loved it,” she said.
Hosting the workshop also gave Lisa the opportunity to network with other women in the local community.
She hopes that the candle-making workshops will become a regular fixture on MercyCare’s events calendar.
