Significant numbers of people of Sudanese background have recently settled in the Blacktown region of outer western Sydney. Many have come as refugees from the civil war conflict in southern Sudan and were drawn to Blacktown, the heart of the Sudanese community in New South Wales. This oral history project documents the migration and settlement experiences of Blacktown’s south Sudanese community. It also celebrates the Sudanese people’s resilience and acknowledges their contribution to the wider Blacktown community.

Funded by the NSW Migration Heritage Centre, Blacktown City Council and Museums & Galleries NSW, Sudanese Stories commenced in late 2008. In June 2009, a display with material from the first stage of oral history interviews was on show during Refugee Week. An exhibition and website at Max Webber Library, Blacktown will mark project completion in November 2009.

The project gives a glimpse into the Sudanese Stories archive that will be added to the Blacktown City Libraries’ Local Studies Collection. A few of the interviews have been conducted through an interpreter so participants could tell their stories with greater ease.

Sudanese Stories is a project partnership between Blacktown’s Sudanese community, Blacktown City Council, SydWest Multicultural Services Inc. and the NSW Migration Heritage Centre with support from Museums & Galleries NSW, Community Relations Commission for a multicultural NSW and Blacktown City Libraries.