As we celebrate Mother’s Day, we are reminded that we all have a connection to motherhood. Whether we are mums ourselves or not, we are all someone’s child. We think about the mothers of today and of the past, as they are the link that connects us to the beginning of everything. Link by link, gene by gene, atom by atom, we carry the past within us.
Many of us can say that we are Estonians, many of us can say that we have Estonian mum, many of us can say that we speak Estonian as our mother tongue. Many of us are proud of this heritage.
A few of us, as parents and children of Estonian heritage, have come together to form the board of the leading Estonian organization in Australia, AESL. Why, you ask? We strive to pass on this rich legacy to our children, so that they too can understand what it means to be Estonian and feel a sense of pride in their cultural roots. What does it mean to be Estonian? How does it feel to be Estonian? To keep, hold on to and share the experience drives us to preserve and promote our Estonian heritage in Australia.
AESL is an umbrella organization for Estonian societies in Australia. While we may not be visible to the public as we do not organize events, we are behind, backing, supporting Estonian initiatives in Australia and represent us on world level. We support initiatives such as the children’s annual camp at Sõrve, Estonian Festival, Estonian language learning, share information and support cities newsletters, also support Estonian archives, which will allow the study of Estonian history in Australia in the future. We want to see our Estonian heritage and culture continue and flourish in Australia.
On this Mother’s Day, we invite you to make a donation so that the good Estonian work can continue. Every donation, no matter how small, counts. As every mother knows, from small things, big things grow.
Please consider making a donation to the area of AESL’s direction that you feel most passionate about.
You can make a donation to the account
Commonwealth Bank; 062 233 10062870;
Council of Estonian Societies in Australia; (ref name and state),
Or send a cheque to
PO Box 6606 Melbourne 3004
payable to Council of Estonian Societies in Australia.
Thank you for your generosity and supporting the future of Estonians in Australia.
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!
Sincerely
On behalf of AESL
Sirje Jõgi Rivers
