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16 AUGUST, 2023
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Reaching for new heights Wyndham model Sindu Varathan will reach the top of the fashion world when she parades in the Ladakh International Fashion Runway in India later this month. Literally. Ms Varanathan will be the Australian representative at the show in Ladakh in the Indian Himalayas, which is aiming to break the world record for the highest fashion show ever held. Ms Varathan was born in India but grew up in Wyndham. She won the 2020 Ms Australia International Pageant and was selected to join models and pageant winners from around the world to strut down the catwalk at 5700m above sea-level. “I hope that our joint efforts to break the Guinness World Record will gain the attention of the world, and start conversions and change throughout the fashion industry, the region, and across the globe in other regions faced with similar fates.” The world record attempt will take place on August 30 and is part of a series of events leading up to India hosting the G-20 Leaders Summit in September. Sindu Varathan will appear in a fashion runway 5700m above sea level in a world record attempt. (Damjan Janevski) 351523_01
‘Unimaginable tragedy’ Kanady Moo and his friends grabbed their bikes and rode to a tree used to jump into a popular swimming spot on a warm November evening. But unlike his peers, the 13-year-old refugee did not know how to swim. He jumped off the wooden plank platform attached to the tree, on November 3, 2020, and instantly began drowning. People who lived near the Werribee River went down to help and a woman jumped into the water to find the boy, but “could not see any movement or bubbles”, she told the Coroners Court.
Police found Kanady’s body about four hours after he jumped into the water, at 10.30pm that evening. He was six metres under water, caught in snags at the bottom of the riverbed close to where he dove in. Victorian Coroner Leveasque Peterson investigated Kanady’s death and found the drowning was accidental. “Kanady’s death is an unimaginable tragedy for this family as well as the wider community,” she said, in findings published on Wednesday, August 9. “It is imperative, especially in the lead-up to the next summer season, that the Victorian community is reminded of the danger of
unintentional drowning in children in both large and small bodies of water.“ Kanady had never been swimming, nor attended lessons, before his family sought asylum and moved to Australia from a Thailand refugee camp. They settled in Werribee in 2018 and he was about to finish year 7 at Wyndham Central College when he died. The coroner sought advice from the state’s education department to examine opportunities to prevent future drowning deaths. The department acknowledged in the past there was a “significant gap“ in swimming
education between children born in Australia and those of a refugee or migrant background. Since Kanady’s death, funding has been introduced for all English language schools to provide free swimming programs. Both the department and Life Saving Victoria agreed more targeted communication was needed to ensure new arrivals to Australia knew about the supports and programs available on swimming and water safety. The coroner recommended Wyndham City Council consult with Melbourne Water and Life Saving Victoria, and consider installing safety signs at popular swimming spots, including in the area where Kanady drowned.
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By Emily Woods, AAP