LAST week the City of Bendigo welcomed 24 new citizens in a special ceremony.<\/p>\n
People from countries including India, Vietnam, France and the Phillippines took the pledge at Town Hall on Wednesday evening.<\/p>\n
Born in the Philippines, Anne Lorraine Alisangco said she is very happy to finally be a citizen.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means so much to me,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s been tough coming from a third world country but coming to Australia means we get better opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Alisangco moved to Bendigo in 2015 and works as a nurse.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re very welcome here, I\u2019m glad to be a part of a wonderful country and town of Bendigo,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s very diverse and very accepting of different cultures.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m also happy to be able to share my skill in the community, I work as a nurse in the hospital, so it\u2019s lovely to be able to share and give back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mayor Cr Jennifer Alden said it\u2019s a very special occasion for the whole community.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt 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,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Cr Alden said she\u2019s thrilled the city can hold larger events with COVID-19 restrictions easing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that people are really keen to get out to events because the events we\u2019ve had recently have had a lot of people attending,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got a lot of people coming from Melbourne as tourists, and that will happen at Easter as well.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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. \u201cIt means so much to […]<\/p>\n