BREAKING
DOWN
BARRIERS
By Brodie Cowburn Photos Yanni
A
s the daughter of two Ghanaian immigrants, born in the UK and currently residing on the Mornington Peninsula, Naomi Kissiedu-Green is certainly no stranger to the idea of cultural diversity. Having travelled the world and experienced a wide range of cultural differences, she has seen with her own eyes the ways in which cultural diversity still remains an issue prevalent within society; Australian society in particular. Having experienced first hand the barriers that can exist as a result of being perceived as different, Naomi is now committed to doing all that she can to make sure anybody in the world who might stand out as being different in the community is not just accepted, but embraced with open arms. “Moving to Australia, it opened up my eyes a lot more, because it wasn’t as diverse as London where I had been living at the time. When I worked in childcare I’d get different kind of reactions, not only from the children, but also the workers who would be shocked to see me at the door. For me it’s all about representation. From being at the childcare centres I can see that there’s a lack of resources that reflects people of diverse cultures,” Naomi said.
E ssence
52 | PENINSULA
November 2017
“I became more passionate about the issue when I had my children, and I didn’t want them to go through all of the questions, or people looking at them strangely or differently. I just felt like they needed to be represented. I had to do something about it.” For Naomi, the issue of cultural diversity has long been of discussion, as her parents migrated from their home in the West African country of Ghana to London in the hope of a better life for themselves and their future family of four kids. After Naomi’s parents made the move, they were joined by other family members who are still based in the UK today. Naomi now lives with her family in Mornington, with her husband, Australian Navy Officer Matthew Green, with whom she has three young children. With her Ghanaian heritage, Naomi may be seen as standing out among the community in her current home on the Mornington Peninsula, but she is adamant in her cause that this is a positive thing, and should be embraced. To help spread her message of diversity and inclusivity, Naomi turned to writing.