Satyas work helps cross cultural divide

ST FRANCIS Xavier College Berwick senior teacher Satya Goundan has been named for the Meritorious Service in the Community Award for outstanding voluntary services in the City of Casey and Latrobe region.

Mr Goundan is also a senior executive of the Sangam Association of Victoria and the Gippsland Indian Association.

Premier Steve Bracks presented the award to Mr Goundan during a ceremony in the Windsor Hotel, Melbourne, last month.

Satya Goundan is a Fijianborn migrant and founder of the Gippsland Indian Association.

He has helped deliver a range of interfaith cultural initiatives to multicultural communities in the Casey and Latrobe areas.

Mr Goundan organised numerous community camps, multicultural camps and international cultural study tours to foster intercultural understanding.

He has demonstrated a strong commitment for charity through his fundraising programs that targeted socioeconomic disadvantaged in the AsiaPacific region.

He also actively involved community groups in translating Victorian Governments multicultural initiatives into his schools curriculum.