IN PICTURES: Albany's Karen community hosts feast to raise funds for the construction of a community centre

Members of Albany’s Karen community hosted a food and culture festival at the Albany Baptist Church on Saturday to raise funds for the construction of a local community centre. Karen families and friends set up stalls selling a diverse range of delicious food and beverages to raise money for the growth of their community. Community leader Daniel Zu said some of the proceeds from the sales would go towards a deposit on land for a planned community centre. “What’s happening today is just a food fair, entry is free but food is available for purchase to support our plan to buy a block of land and eventually set up our community centre,” he said. “Once we have a space then we plan to run community programs on a regular basis like language classes, traditional practices and community meetings with elders and young people. “We are going to have regular activities to settle our community and then integrate into the local community here as well to be able to contribute back to society.” The Karen people are one of the biggest ethnic minorities in Myanmar. Myanmar — formerly known as Burma — was taken over in a military coup in February last year and remains plagued by violence.