Talks by Mr Antonios Tsourdalakis to Associations of the Elderly of Victoria
In the series of events called “October 2022 – Month of the Elderly”, organised by the Greek Welfare Center of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia, the President of the Intercommunities Council of Victoria, Mr. Antonis Tsourdalakis, participates as a speaker.
Specifically, Mr. Tsourdalakis visited and spoke in the following parishes of the Archdiocesan District of Melbourne: on Thursday, October 13 2022, at Holy Trinity Parish in Richmond, on Tuesday, October 18 2022, at St. Andrew the Apostle Parish in Forest Hill, and on Thursday, October 20 2022, at Dormition of the Theotokos Parish-Community in North Altona.
The topic of Mr. Tsourdalaki’s addresses is: “The contribution of the first generation to the second and third generation in the Greek family”. Among other things, he emphasised addressing the elderly expatriates: “We owe you a lot. You built an entire community with churches, schools, cultural associations and above all you opened thousands of homes, in which many notable members of Australian society grew up with Greek upbringing and Greek ideals. Hierarchs, priests, politicians, lawyers, doctors, accountants, businessmen. You did all this with your very little grammatical knowledge, but with your immense will to create and succeed.
You helped the second generation, your children, start their lives. By securing their school and university tuition payments, then buying houses and new households. There were not a few who you help set up professionally, giving them as a “dowry” your ready-made businesses and your clientele.
But your offerings did not stop at this point. Your invaluable attitude and sacrifices and giving nature as grandparents, with infinite love, wisdom, affection and much time, due to your now retired status, exceeded all expectations.
From this fortress you gave even more, seizing the opportunity to give to your grandchildren what you did not get to give to your children, since then the fatigue of work did not allow you to do so. You take them to and from their schools, sit with them until the parents come home from work. The examples of grandparents paying for their grandchildren’s tuition to learn Greek are by no means few and far-between. You put into practice what the wise Greek people say: “My child’s child is twice a child”.
Moved, the members of the Associations of the Elderly thanked the Greek Welfare Center for the visits and the organisation of speeches, as well as Mr. Antonis Tsourdalakis for his presence and for his beautiful words.
