Profile - Local Hero believes in sharing
Australia’s Local Hero 2007 Shanaka Fernando, is a Melbourne restaurateur who believes that everyone should share their culture’s assets with the community. ‘Spread what you have, even if it is not something that seems commercially viable,’ he said.
The local hero award is sponsored by the department to recognise the contributions of ordinary Australian citizens who do exceptional things in their local communities.
Shanaka migrated from Sri Lanka to Australia in 1989 and became an Australian citizen in 2006. He established the restaurant chain Lentil as Anything in 2000 to help provide community support and inclusion.
It operates four not-for-profit Melbourne restaurants where there are no prices on the menu. Customers pay what they feel their meal was worth, or what they can afford. Some customers help with washing up to pay for their meals.
Today, Lentil as Anything employs about 100 young people, including youth from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
The restaurants have in the past seven years opened doors to other employment for more than 700 newly-arrived refugees and Australians. They also provide free gallery and performance space for artists and entertainers, allowing refugees to connect with mainstream society by sharing their stories, art, music and food.
Shanaka also runs a refugee mentoring programme and works with Sudanese youth. He hopes that his local hero award will inspire other migrants to find opportunities to share their culture and assets with the wider community.
‘There is an unassuming, laid-back side to Australian culture which is very dynamic and progressive and generous,’ Shanaka said at the launch of the 2008 Australian of the Year Awards.
‘It is nice these positive stories come out – it creates a ripple of encouragement for people in the community to know that they can follow their individual inspirations and get recognised for that.’