New citizens take the pledge

LAST week the City of Bendigo welcomed 24 new citizens in a special ceremony.

People from countries including India, Vietnam, France and the Phillippines took the pledge at Town Hall on Wednesday evening.

Born in the Philippines, Anne Lorraine Alisangco said she is very happy to finally be a citizen.

“It means so much to me,” she said. “It’s been tough coming from a third world country but coming to Australia means we get better opportunity.”

Ms Alisangco moved to Bendigo in 2015 and works as a nurse.

“We’re very welcome here, I’m glad to be a part of a wonderful country and town of Bendigo,” she said. “It’s very diverse and very accepting of different cultures.”

“I’m also happy to be able to share my skill in the community, I work as a nurse in the hospital, so it’s lovely to be able to share and give back.”

Mayor Cr Jennifer Alden said it’s a very special occasion for the whole community.

“It means a lot to everybody and it means a lot to us too as a community as we broaden our cultural diversity it allows to celebrate that richness even more,” she said.

Cr Alden said she’s thrilled the city can hold larger events with COVID-19 restrictions easing.

“I know that people are really keen to get out to events because the events we’ve had recently have had a lot of people attending,” she said.

“We’ve got a lot of people coming from Melbourne as tourists, and that will happen at Easter as well.”