New Citizens

A Kenyan family are set to become Australia Citizens at Burnside’s Australia Day ceremony on Sunday 26 January.

John Oloo, his wife Mercy Achieng and children Nicole, 20, Samuel, 16, Nelson, 11 and Naomi, 6 will all take Australian Citizenship after migrating from Kenya in 2011. Naomi was born in Australia but does not automatically become a citizen. The family first settled in Bordertown in the state’s south east where John worked as a General Practitioner. “We moved to a country town so it was easy to fit in to a small community,” Mercy says. John says they came to Australia for an adventure and wanted to experience something different. They miss family in Kenya but have made many friends here and try to return to their homeland every couple of years. The whole family is excited about becoming Aussies and are planning a big lunch with 150 friends after the ceremony.

L-R: Samuel, Nelson, John, Naomi, Mercy, Nicole.