Sheffield Oromo Cultural Day.
By Muneebah Waheed
On 11th April 2015, Sheffield Oromo Community Association (SOCA) hosted its annual cultural day at SADACCA.
Present at the event were many distinguished guests, including Paul Blomfield MP alongside various NGO representatives. The Oromo Cultural event included dances and drama performed by the Oromo members, and cultural food and drinks for all to enjoy. Certificates were also presented to the management committee and volunteers of SOCA.
Badasso Safawo, chairperson of SOCA, spoke at the event highlighting the aims of SOCA. In the closing speech, he reaffirmed SOCA’S aims, stating that SOCA is “not a political party, but a social community based association that seeks to predominantly address the Oromo community’s life sustaining needs.”
Mr Safawo developed this further and said that “SOCA has the basic belief that every person has the capacity to learn and develop, and benefits from the opportunity to do so.
The community improves when everyone is learning and developing; thus SOCA works with their local communities at a grassroots level to create economic opportunities and better social conditions, particularly for those who are most disadvantaged.”