Refugee Week officially starts on Sunday and runs until June 20, and aims to celebrate the positive contributions of refugees to Australian society.

Amalin Sundaravej from the Tamworth office of Northern Settlement Services knows the importance of such a week and said it was a great chance to bring together all sections of the community. Her organisation works closely with new arrivals to the city and surrounds, and she said Tamworth was proving to be a welcoming place.

“It is a good chance to celebrate what they have brought to the community,” Ms Sundaravej said.

“It is home for them now and Tamworth has been good to them. People have opened their hearts and their doors to them.”

Refugees from the likes of Burma, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Iran call the city home, settling here because of work opportunities.

Candy Christy, originally from Burma, spent about 10 years in a refugee camp on the Thai/Burmese border with her family before coming to Australia.

They settled in Wollongong initially, before moving to Tamworth for employment.

Candy said they liked the community, and the fact it was “a bit quieter” than Wollongong.

May Way Htoo, also from Burma, her husband and son have been in the city for about three years and last year took the oath to become Australian citizens.

Several others in the group who spoke to The Leader are going through the citizenship process.

At tomorrow’s celebrations at the Peel St library, there’ll be singers and dancers in the forecourt from 2pm, followed by official proceedings and afternoon tea.

ABC Open producer Tim Leha will present ABC Open videos featuring refugees’ stories from around the nation at 3pm, followed by The Good Lie, starring Reece Witherspoon.