The Thunder Dragon Football Club, a youth initiative from Melbourne, is participating in the interstate football tournament organised by the Bhutanese resettled in Brisbane.
The players have been preparing for last three months with the support from Hume City Football Club, one of the premier clubs of Victoria.
The unique arrangement is the initiative offered by the Bhutanese youths who volunteer for the club and in return get the football ground to play and practice and coaching from the senior coach for free.
The clubs also provides the Bhutanese youths with uniforms and balls. The team is supported financially by Football Federation of Victoria and Centre of Multicultural Youth, and in-kind by Spectrum Migrant Resource Centre, according to one of the club members.
BOA formalized
Apart from football, the youths have also formalized the Bhutanese Organisation in Australia Inc. (BOA) formerly known as Bhutanese Community in Australia to continue the community development until Dashain 2012 as ad-hoc committee that would conduct various soccer tournaments in and out of the Bhutanese community, and a grand multicultural festival involving new and established migrant communities to showcase Dashain and Tihar.
Kubir Khanal, a potential youth leader, along with 10 other youths, is leading the committee under the guidance of Parsuram Sharma-Luital. Khagendra Acharya is assisting to lead the football tournament in Brisbane.
After Dashian, NK Kharel, who is a well-respected community veteran formerly from Khudunabari camp, will lead the BOA, being supported by senior duo Tanka Nath Acharya and Khina Pati Dhimal, it has been planned.
Kharel has been volunteering to assist the Bhutanese senior groups who are being provided weekly language and other activities by Foundation House in Melbourne.
Community events ahead
Roshni Chhetri is leading group of women from BOA in a multi-faith project funded by Victorian Government and supported by AMES with the women from Assyrian Chaldean community from Iraq where they are visiting four different religious institutes: Hindu, Christian, Buddhist, and Muslim. The project provides exchange of commonality and difference between these faiths.
Roshni also led a Bhutanese dance group and fashion parade in recent refugee week celebration in Melbourne in the events organised by MRC Spectrum and local service providers.
The BOA has launched to start the Nepali dance class and Nepali language class for the Bhutanese youth from this July.
Thunder Dragon FC also participated in one day soccer tournament organised by Yeti Club where Nepali teams from across Australia were a part where Dhan Nepal received the best goalkeeper recognition.
In yet another event, Bhutanese youths also reached the semi-final in the one-day football tournament organised by Banksia Community Gardens where teams from all new and established community participated. The Thunder Dragon FC was knocked out in the semifinal.
NK Kharel is also learnt to be leading a group of senior Bhutanese to celebrate Bhanu Jayanti for the first time in Melbourne in 2012, yet to be organized.
The program includes the life history of Nepali poet Bhanu Bhakta and its significance in the Nepali language and literature around the world, informed he.
According to him, seniors will recite the poems and other literary items to highlight the importance of Aadi Kavi Bhanu Bhakta Acharya.
