SSI volunteers including Lewis Kiplin (left) helping at the Community Kitchen

The options for aspiring volunteers are endless, although sport, community and education have long maintained their status as the most popular recipients of the volunteering efforts of Australians.

SSI volunteer Lewis Klipin is one of over seven million Australians who have incorporated volunteering into their daily lives. His unwavering commitment to volunteering is an inspiration to others, having contributed at least two days a week for over 20 years since entering retirement.

The transition to retirement can be a challenge for some. However, Mr Klipin said he used this opportunity to take on volunteerism as a way of keeping a healthy mind, creating new social connections and, especially, giving back to the community.

“I started volunteering as a way of giving back to Sydney; a city that has given us so much,” he said.  “My family and I are immigrants, as well. We arrived over 40 years ago and we’ve had a wonderful life here, so I took on volunteering as a way to give back to the community.”

This purpose led him to start volunteering with the Asylum Seeker Centre, where he spent three years visiting Villawood detention centre on a regular basis. After 10 years with the organisation, Mr Klipin joined SSI as a volunteer and has quickly become a valued team member.

“The part that I enjoy the most about volunteering is the direct interaction with clients,” he said.  “Unfortunately, at the other organisations where I volunteered this started happening less and less every time, so I became disillusioned. However, at SSI I can have a direct relationship with clients, which is why I like it so much.”

Mr Klipin said it felt great to be part of an organisation that was concerned about the welfare of people in a vulnerable situation and in need of help.

“You can’t imagine the enormous amount of satisfaction that you can get out from giving back to the community.”

Volunteer opportunities with SSI are limited at the moment due to the pandemic, however we are welcoming expressions of interest for available roles. To find out more about SSI volunteer opportunities, visit the SSI website.

Haydn Payne’s Spectrumite podcast series speaks directly to the heart of the challenges faced by young people with autism

After being initially flagged as possibly having ADHD, Haydn was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome at age 16 in the 1990s – a time when there was very little support for neutrally divergent young people. As a consequence, Haydn has had to break down barriers and cope with his condition through his own set of resilience tactics.

“As someone growing up in a low socio-economic environment, and during a time in the ’90s when many didn’t know what Asperger’s even was, I found myself facing many challenges,” he said.

“After many frustrations, I decided to do something more proactive and get involved in the autism community and advocate to raise awareness.”

Haydn worked with Autism Step Australia and developed a holistic approach to life skills for young adults aged 14 to 30 on the autism spectrum and now co-facilitates with the organisation.

Between 2017 and 2018 he delivered and facilitated Spectrumite Group — a peer mentorship group model that creates a safe and inclusive environment for young adults on the spectrum.

In 2018, Haydn was introduced to IgniteAbility® and has since piloted his first podcast, Spectrumite, a series for high functioning young adults on the autism spectrum, with the support of his IgniteAbility® facilitator.

There are unique challenges facing adolescents on the spectrum who are high functioning. Integrating into mainstream social, study, workplace and relational environments can feel almost impossible at times. Haydn’s PRISM program and the Spectrumite podcast series are targeted at this group in ways, direct and subtle, that speak directly to the heart of the challenges these young people face.

With firsthand lived experience, Haydn applies astute insight and knowledge to his product, dealing with the unique challenges facing adolescents on the spectrum who are integrating into mainstream social, workplace and relational environments.

“My podcast aims to help kids so that they can reach their full potential in a world structured not for them, but for neurotypical people,” he said.

The podcast and PRISM program are only the first step in the puzzle for Haydn, and he intends to continue the development of a suite of products that will help young people to more successfully navigate their adult lives.

“Once the podcast and my PRISM program have reached some momentum, I’m planning to roll out workable solutions, online content, peer group facilitation and supports,” he said.

IgniteAbility® has been inspired by the success of the Ignite® Small Business Start-ups model and is tailored to address barriers and meet the specific needs of entrepreneurs living with a disability, providing an ecosystem of support.

So far 47 IgniteAbility® businesses have been successfully established.

You can support other entrepreneurs living with a disability by making a donation.

Community Innovation Fund recipient Sophie Bejek and award-winning restauranteur Sharon Salloum at the Cook for Syria dinner. Photo credit: Nikki To

Twelve months later, she joined some of the country’s most prestigious chefs at a Cook for Syria dinner to help raise funds for the UNICEF Syria Crisis Appeal.

Auspiced by the Western Sydney Migrant Resource Centre, Sophie managed the Laziz Project, which aimed to enable newly-arrived Syrian women to meet new people and gain employable skills through cooking classes. The participants, from the Liverpool area, undertook cooking sessions at the Refugee and Community Welcome Centre in Callan Park.

While running the classes, Sophie was introduced to the founder of award-winning restaurant Almond Bar, Sharon Salloum.

Ms Salloum attended a gathering at the Welcome Centre, where a diverse group of Syrian women congregated over language-learning, cooking, and some dancing led by Ms Bejok.

“It was heart-warming to see a group of strong-willed Syrian women, who have fled a war zone — and then they’re up dancing!” Ms Salloum said.

“To witness their resilience, how they’ve taken on life, is truly inspiring.”

As a second-generation Syrian, Ms Salloum walked away emotionally moved and eager to contribute to enrich the lives of those women.

Shortly afterwards, she asked Ms Bejek and the wider group of six women to participate in UNICEF’s Cook for Syria fundraising initiative, in which she had a key role.

Harnessing strengths and opportunities

In Aleppo, Syria, Ms Bejek graduated with a degree in biological engineering. Shortly afterwards, she worked as a lab assistant until she fled Syria to Lebanon with her family due to the ongoing conflict.

Since arriving in Australia in 2018 she has requalified as a certified Zumba dance instructor through the support of Inner West Council. With the support of SSI’s refugee entrepreneurship program Ignite®, she has set up a business to run her own classes.

The SSI Community Innovation Fund keeps community at heart, enabling the newcomer community to have a voice in the settlement process through harnessing their innate knowledge about their assets, strengths and opportunities, and to get their ideas funded.

The fund is designed to remove barriers to funding for the community and provide resources for those with ideas who can “do” but wouldn’t typically attract grant funding.

You can help support self-starters like Ms Bejek through making a donation towards SSI’s Community Innovation Fund here.

“It’s a chance to love a child. I feel good that I’m helping someone’s child they cannot bring up. I can provide [them with] a family.”

Linh became a foster carer in 2011. She already had an interest in caring for children, with a Certificate 3 in childcare, and she thought her young son, now a teenager, would benefit from having the company of other children at home.

Linh’s caring journey began with a couple of children on short-term placements, and then an opportunity for long-term care came up. Linh has raised six-year-old Ben* since he was eight months old.

In matching Linh and Ben, SSI considered their shared Vietnamese cultural heritage so that Linh could help to maintain Ben’s connection to his family’s ethnicity and language. SSI believes that these connections help children to develop their sense of belonging and identity.

Through Linh’s influence, Ben understands Vietnamese (although he prefers to answer in English), and is very familiar with Vietnamese food through home cooking and restaurants. Linh and the boys also socialise with others in the Vietnamese community.

“Children need to know where they come from and what nationality and family background they belong to,” she said.

In 2013 SSI became the first multicultural not-for-profit contracted to develop and deliver a culturally appropriate model of foster care in NSW. The establishment of the Multicultural Foster Care Program was the result of years of developmental work by SSI after long recognising the need for a culturally appropriate model of foster care services for CALD children and young people. In 2020, SSI expanded its foster care service into Victoria.

While SSI has a focus on recruiting foster carers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, it is also interested to hear from people of any background who have a genuine interest in providing a safe, caring and stable home for these children and young people. Have your queries answered with the FAQs or take our quiz to see if you are eligible to become a foster carer.

*Names have been changed and a stock photo has been used. 

Partnership and collaboration have been in SSI’s DNA since its formation

CEO Violet Roumeliotis puts SSI’s growth, evolution and diversification down to collaboration, a culturally-diverse and passionate team, putting people first, and a strong focus on values over financial outcomes.

SSI started small but had a big dream. That dream involved collaboration and partnerships with local neighbourhood centres, its members in metropolitan and regional NSW, ethno-specific and mainstream organisations, charities and corporates. Its service delivery model and approach to project initiatives was about building capacity, letting local services do what they do best and harnessing the expertise of the NFP sector.

The big dream has become a reality because SSI focused on building relationships, acknowledging other strengths and skills and recognising the impact of concentrating on what was held in common rather than the differences.

Most importantly, SSI respected that diversity of thought and contribution builds power with and not power over.

One of SSI’s strongest assets is its partners – a network based on a genuine commitment of trust and shared values.

SSI, with its member organisations, approached challenges collaboratively with different levels of government, across sectors, with civil society organisations and, most importantly, with people at the grassroots whose lives SSI sought to support.

“I am a firm believer that deep and meaningful relationships bring wonderful collaborations, help grow broad resourceful networks and deliver better outcomes for organisations and for our community.”

SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis

SSI’s successful growth required strategic foresight, fuelled by bringing diverse minds to the table, including expert practitioners, community leaders and strategists, partners and collaborators — to assess policy trends and government priorities.

By being in trusting relationships that fostered collaboration, SSI was able to offer ground-breaking, innovative social models of service delivery, very often in partnership with member organisations, sector partners and other civil society organisations.

Four examples of SSI’s collaborative relationships

1. The NSW Settlement Partnership (NSP) is an innovator in the settlement sector.

Established in 2015, the NSP is a consortium of migrant resource centres, multicultural services and locally based generalist and ethno-specific organisations, led by SSI, delivering settlement services in Sydney and key regional locations in NSW under the Department of Home Affairs’ Settlement Engagement and Transition Support (SETS) program.

It has provided the opportunity for partners to learn from each other, to more effectively work together and, most importantly, learn more about providing strong settlement services for clients.

A 2017 study found that the lateral accountability mechanisms within the NSP were effective with partners possessing a strong sense of accountability towards each other. A key reason for this was that the delivery model took a strength-based approach and recognised the different capacities and needs of each partner.

Partners come together to develop and share learnings and resources, to reinforce best practice against agreed service standards and principles.

There is a strong sense of shared values and goals among NSP partners, particularly in providing the best possible quality of services to clients.

2. Through the Connective Collective initiative, an Australian first, White Pages innovatively used its expertise in connecting people and businesses to link new migrants and refugees with the wider community. Over 200 families in Liverpool received the Connective Collective welcome pack, which included flashcards and a business directory featuring stories about local business owners in English and Arabic. The initiative connected migrants and refugees who were adapting to life in Australia with local businesses and services tailored to meet their needs and enhance their settlement journey.

The Connective Collective was the result of genuine community collaboration between White Pages, SSI as the refugee settlement provider, Western Sydney Migrant Resource Centre and Liverpool Council. The collaboration built on strong location-based networks, demonstrated rapport and relationships within communities and with their leaders. All stakeholders played an important role in designing and implementing the roll-out, drawing on each other’s area of expertise.

3. In the past two years SSI has partnered with Australian Women in Music Awards (AWMA) to turn the spotlight on culturally diverse female artists and music practitioners through the SSI Diversity in Music Award.

4. A partnership between Allianz Australia and SSI has delivered new career opportunities and support for refugees and migrants who have settled in Australia. It has improved employment and educational opportunities for SSI clients as well as enhancing workforce diversity at Allianz.

Thanks to the partnership, successful participants in the Allianz Ladder — teaching young refugees basic business skills and helping them find a job — progressed to Allianz’s Sustainable Employment Program, which provided refugees with tailored development, career management plans and permanent employment.

Another component of the partnership is Allianz’s provision of educational scholarships that minimise the impact of structural disadvantage that refugees often experience during the early settlement phase by increasing access to education.

Thank you to all of our corporate partners for their support.

One service Access Community Service offers is the unique Multicultural Sports Club (MSC). Using sport-based programs as tools for connection, MSC staff build relationships with newly arrived youth to ensure their needs are met and each person is offered a new opportunity to grow and seek further pathways to successfully settle in Australia.

Through these programs – team sports, holiday events, competitions, skill-building workshops and training pathways – young people have an opportunity to socialise, meet new people and gain confidence in their new country, as well as the chance to access other support services Access Community Services provides.

The unique model of the MSC and its ability to support successful settlement is something Tresor Ruzangiza has experienced first-hand.

Sport was one of the first things Tresor pursued when he arrived in Australia from the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2014.

MSC has always supported him through every task or goal he has wanted to achieve, he said.

“I started playing in the MSC’s Multicultural Football League and from the very first day everyone was so welcoming, asking questions like ‘How are you going? How is your family? Can we help you with anything?’ and they would always encourage me to have fun as well!

“This was a totally new experience – I have grown up experiencing pain and suffering, which at one point led me to believe life had no meaning – so the love and care shown to me by MSC was very touching.

“I used to be quite shy in public and didn’t have the courage to be able to speak in front of people but MSC has changed all of this. I have improved my English, gained more confidence and been given a chance to fit in with Australian culture.”

Tresor’s journey at the MSC has come full circle, with staff encouraging him to train as a soccer coach and offering him a job.

“Working at the MSC is more than just a job– it is a chance to serve and unite my community, to help other people in need and pass on the same welcome and opportunities the club has given me.”

Arash Bordbar creates awareness of issues faced by young refugees

APRRN is an open and growing network of more than 340 civil society organisations and individuals from 28 countries committed to advancing the rights of refugees in the Asia Pacific.

As a longstanding member, and a partner since 2017, SSI has supported APRRN’s activities in key areas, including joint advocacy for refugee rights at national, regional and international levels.

Other activities between the affiliated organisations include knowledge sharing and capacity-strengthening, addressing responses to key protection challenges focused on issues around legal aid, advocacy, refugee law, mental health, gender issues, statelessness, and alternatives to detention.

Mr Bordbar was an integral part of the SSI Youth Collective before receiving the Young Australian Human Rights Award in 2016 for his work with refugee youth. His advocacy work has strong connections with his own lived experience.

“My advocacy started more than ten years ago, the moment my family and I stepped foot in Malaysia after escaping to safety from Iran,” Mr Bordbar said.

“We found ourselves in a foreign land with no friends and no direction. The process with UNHCR was long and hard, and that was when I started my advocacy to help refugees, like myself, to find meaning in this world.”

Mr Bordbar is particularly passionate about education as he believes it is the first stepping stone to future happiness for many young refugees.

“Study was the most important thing for me when I was facing problems. If I could study, I could see people, become wiser, gain more knowledge, and get more hope,” he said.

“When you don’t have a good education, when you can’t study, you think you don’t really have a bright future.”

SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis said achievements like Mr Bordbar’s amplified refugee voices.

“These are the refugee lived experiences that truly illustrate what it means to walk in their shoes, and Arash is a great example of a young person who has referred to his own lived experience to advocate for others,” Ms Roumeliotis said.

“We are excited to continue work with Arash in his new appointment as Chair and to continue our partnership with the APRRN secretariat.”

Mr Bordbar fled his home in Iran at the age of 16 and arrived in Malaysia registering as a refugee with UNHCR in Kuala Lumpur. He spent five years there, where he completed his secondary education online, before being resettled in Australia in May 2015.

“As a refugee in Malaysia during that time, we had no access to education and employment since we were considered illegal immigrants,” he said.

While awaiting approval to come to Australia, Mr Bordbar finished his high school studies and picked up conversational English. He then developed fluent English skills and began volunteering as a translator for a not-for-profit refugee organisation.

Mr Bordbar went on to volunteer for the UNHCR, where he spent two years providing translation services and helping other refugees and asylum seekers to navigate life in Malaysia.

After being resettled in Australia, Mr Bordbar enrolled in university and, in 2016, was nominated to be the Australian delegate to the UNHCR-led Global Refugee Youth Consultation in Geneva.

His involvement led to the establishment of the Global Youth Advisory Council, a mechanism ensuring that youth voices are taken into consideration during the UNHCR decision-making process.

Mr Bordbar has been working with APRRN since 2016 and now sees an opportunity not only to build a strong network but also to help refugees find their voices during moments that matter the most.

“I believe that inclusivity should always be part of the conversations and planning, as we should make sure that every human being has an equal opportunity to be heard and represented,” said Mr Bordbar.

“As the chair of APRRN, I would personally like to make sure that we continue to fight for the rights of refugees and provide support as needed to make sure that people are represented equally and fairly. Together we can make it happen.”

Learn more about the Youth Collective.

In the year 2000 SSI, then called the NSW Migrant Resource Centre Association, was established as a provider of Humanitarian Settlement Services by its members, 11 multicultural and migrant resource centres.

SSI’s first headquarters in Holden Street, Ashfield

Those centres were created in response to the Galbally report in the late 1970s, which aimed to “make migrants more welcome”, help them to settle more easily into Australian life, to maintain their own cultures and to ensure they had the same rights and access to services as other Australians.

Those aims and the migrant resource centres’ community roots remain at the core of SSI’s approach to delivering quality services and support for vulnerable communities.

SSI was launched with its first Humanitarian Settlement Services contract in February 2000. It commenced operations on August 1, 2001, and worked from a building in Holden Street, Ashfield, which was officially opened on October 19, 2002.

SSI employed 23 people to provide initial settlement services to refugee and humanitarian entrants.

The vision was to think outside the box, to be a player in a different way. Members, management and staff put an incredible amount of time and effort into coming up with a vision and budget. People were willing to give up their prized independence for the common goal.

In October 2003, the name of the organisation was changed from NSW Migrant Resource Centres Association to Settlement Services International.

When SSI lost the Humanitarian Settlement Services contract it went into hibernation while it developed a vision for the future, including plans for out of home care that came to fruition five years later.

SSI remained focused on its core business, becoming a viable and important entity in the refugee and multicultural landscape in NSW, creating a foundation and funding education scholarships for young refugees, and programs for refugee groups and organisations.

In 2011, SSI was again awarded the Humanitarian Settlement Services program and work began on introducing a unique multicultural foster care program, initially to build the capacity of culturally and linguistically diverse communities, and then, in 2012, as a specialist Multicultural Foster Care Service.

SSI had the honour of being the first multicultural not-for-profit organisation contracted to develop and deliver a culturally appropriate model of foster care, growing a reputation for innovation in case management.

In the six months after the beginning of HSS operations, SSI delivered settlement services, relocated from a temporary office in Leichhardt to a permanent management office in Auburn, employed 52 permanent staff and 114 casual bilingual humanitarian workers, while setting up a large-scale multi-site settlement program for refugees and humanitarian entrants.

The following year, SSI was awarded the Community Assistance Scheme/Asylum Seeker Assistance Scheme, which provided support to asylum seekers living in the community.

The awarding of the HSS program to SSI was a testament to the connection, the commitment, and the dedication that its members had in their local areas. NSW’s migrant resource centres and diversity agencies, and stakeholders, worked closely with SSI with an aligned mission.

Bringing together that family of SSI kept it connected to the grass roots communities and gave the migrant resource centres a bigger platform. Their capacity, roles in settlement planning and service delivery, and infrastructure support were a significant factor in the integrated model.

Clients were always at the centre. SSI had the support systems, networks and a case management model tailored for each individual’s needs.

Respecting human rights and social justice and the principles of people meeting their full potential underpinned all SSI programs and service delivery frameworks.

It was extremely important that the enormous contribution that immigrants and refugees had made to Australia became a part of SSI’s civic consciousness and advocacy.

SSI continued to develop new programs and services, in partnership with mainstream services, that directly benefitted its clients.

In 2013, for the first time in Australia, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds were able to connect to accessible legal services through collaboration between Legal Aid NSW and SSI. Civil and family lawyers from Legal Aid NSW provided legal advice services on site to clients at Migrant Resource Centres as well as offering regular education workshops about the Australian legal system.

SSI’s Housing Services commenced in 2013, followed by disability services, specifically the Ability Links NSW program in 2014, partnering with UnitingCare Burnside and St Vincent De Paul, to foster full and active participation of people with disabilities in their communities.

In 2014, when SSI successfully retendered for the new asylum seeker Status Resolution Support Scheme, it provided services to nearly 12,000 refugees, humanitarian entrants and asylum seekers.

SSI proved effective at reinvesting its income to help target groups. Clients remained at the forefront of its work, with access to services such as disability services in the language of their own communities, Jobactive employment services, and Ignite Small Business Start-ups, a self-funded enterprise facilitation initiative for refugees.

Connection to community and collaboration to serve the needs of vulnerable people have been the hallmarks of SSI’s development in recent years, including the Refugee Employment Support Program, NSW Settlement Partnership, Diversity Training, Community Hubs, social enterprises, Arts & Culture, and NDIS Local Area Coordinator services.

Programs now extend throughout regional NSW, to Access Community Services in Queensland, and in Victoria, including gambling harm prevention and counselling services.

SSI’s international profile includes participation in UNHCR meetings in Geneva to ensure the voices of its clients are represented internationally and to maintain a global perspective to its work with refugees and asylum seekers, and co-hosting the 2018 Metropolis conference on migration, diversity and integration.

Learn how you can support SSI’s work by making a donation, volunteering or becoming a corporate partner.

Our Voice harnessed lived experience to overcome the gap in CALD access to support services

In 2018, the SSI research paper Still Outside the Tent found that people who are born in a non-English speaking country have similar rates of disability as other Australians but are about half as likely to receive formal assistance. It called for a more comprehensive and culturally responsive approach to service delivery from the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) to meet the diverse needs of people with disability.

Co-author of the paper and SSI Research and Policy Manager Tadgh McMahon said, “What is needed are more ‘soft’ and ‘multiple’ community-based entry points to the disability service system to help these marginalised groups access services such as the NDIS.”

Since 2014, SSI has been helping people from CALD backgrounds overcome language and cultural barriers through those “soft” entry points. With a community-minded approach to service delivery, SSI has successfully run a number of capacity building programs to help those people live the lives they want to live and achieve greater social and economic inclusion.

One of those programs, Ability Links, ran from 2014 until June 2020 and supported people with disability aged 9 to 64, and their families and carers, to plan for their future by building on their strengths and skills to lead the life they want as valued members of their community.

During its six-year course, SSI Ability Links provided information to over 18,000 people across NSW and facilitated support to 4,500 people, including people with disability, their families and carers.

To assist people from CALD backgrounds access the NDIS and other mainstream support services, SSI’s Future Ability initiative provided people with disability and their supports information on disability and access in 14 different languages.

The Multilingual Disability Hub, a nation-wide multilingual hotline and website provided relevant and easily accessible information on disability and the NDIS, while the Community Information Sessions provided in-language support where individuals were able to continue to ask questions in a person-centred environment.

In addition, SSI has also taken an innovative approach to disability services education through its Our Voice program. The program used lived experience educators to help mainstream disability service providers to better understand the challenges facing people with disability from migrant and refugee backgrounds. 

And now in 2020, SSI has begun an exciting new chapter in disability support services as the organisation was named a Local Area Coordinator (LAC) for the NDIS. As an LAC, SSI supports people aged 7 and over to access the NDIS and other mainstream services in the community.

Find out more about SSI’s Local Area Coordinator services.

In 2019 a group of Ezidi women were provided the opportunity to create a pop-up restaurant in Armidale’s Café Patisserie. Photo credit: Anna Kucera

Community organisation and social business SSI has overseen the settlement of over 300 refugees from Iraq and Syria in Armidale since February 2018 under the Federal Government’s Humanitarian Settlement Program (HSP).

SSI provides new arrivals with contracted HSP services, such as housing, orientation to community, links to education programs, training and employment assistance. In tandem with these services, SSI has implemented an integration model that includes community engagement, arts and culture, volunteering, project management, and marketing and communications.

Early results from this unique whole-of-community approach are extremely positive, with a high retention of new arrivals to date. This approach could be instrumental in the success of regional settlement strategies across Australia, if duplicated in other areas.

The Armidale community has forged countless connections with newcomers through community events, a volunteering service, newcomer-driven initiatives, and connections with sporting groups. At the same time, positive community attitudes toward the Ezidi refugees have strengthened.

SSI’s success in Armidale shows the benefits settlement brings for both regional host communities
and those on humanitarian visas. Welcoming newcomers to regional sites can stimulate local regional economies, boost workforces and offset population decline. For the newcomers, a regional environment can offer a warmer, less confronting settlement experience than that available in cities.

As an advocate for stronger pathways to regional communities, SSI recognises that regional settlement arrangements must accommodate the needs of both new arrivals and host communities. To realise the full potential of such arrangements, it is essential that the host community finds meaningful ways to welcome and support newcomers in their settlement and that the newcomers feel empowered, welcome and at home in their new environment.

Armidale local shares skills with refugee and aspiring photographer

Armidale local and freelance photographer Simon Scott partnered with Settlement Services International (SSI) to use his skills to foster the talent of aspiring photographer and Ezidi refugee Salwan Qasm Muhi.

Mr Scott has lived in Armidale for 18 years with a successful career as a photographer, producing images for politicians, universities and organisations including the local youth support hub,  Backtrack.

He has also travelled to Africa, teaching photography at an educational institution in Tanzania and documenting life stories for a string of humanitarian organisations and NGOs.

On learning of Armidale’s selection as a major refugee resettlement location, Mr Scott was eager to channel his skills and document the lives of his new neighbours or, better yet, teach them how to document and tell the story of their own lives.

Mr Scott contacted SSI and was connected to Mr Muhi, a young refugee with a desire to hone his skills and pursue a career as a photographer.

After a phone call facilitated by an interpreter, the duo met face-to-face and wandered the streets of Armidale, taking photos and discussing their image compositions.

Despite the language barriers, Mr Scott and Mr Muhi formed a strong artistic bond, with Mr Scott describing Mr Muhi as someone with a warm and positive attitude — and a sharp dresser.

When Mr Scott tasked his eager student Mr Muhi to photograph objects that were unfamiliar to him, the results were surprising.

As Mr Muhi, 21, walked through the streets of Armidale with a camera, he gravitated towards traffic signs and other items of street furniture.

“I asked him to photograph things that were new to him, and he took pictures of roundabout signs and give-way signs,” said Mr Scott.

“He was intrigued by zebra crossings. When any photographer is in a new area, there’s a wealth of things to discover, and it was fascinating to see what someone who’s seen a harder side to life found different in this environment.”

“I like cameras and I like taking pictures, and I want to learn how to be a photographer,” Mr Muhi said.

When Mr Scott had time free from his work shooting across New England and overseas, the pair wandered the streets, Mr Muhi equipped with one of Mr Scott’s hefty Canon SLR cameras.

They swapped words in English and Kurmanji, sometimes resorting to charades to get the point across. One of Mr Muhi’s funniest images is a picture of Mr Scott with his arms spread out, mimicking a plane to ask Mr Muhi how he arrived in Australia.

Mr Scott said Mr Muhi’s passion for photography was growing, while his own understanding of the Ezidi culture was also getting better.

“It’s nice to work with someone who genuinely wants to learn something new,” he said. “And this is my way of welcoming someone to the community, by helping with English and photography.”

Mr Scott is now keen to offer photographic workshops to the wider Ezidi community to provide them with another means of self-expression and to document their new life in Armidale.

Mr Muhi, meanwhile, remains determined to make it as a photographer if he can.

“I’d like to keep getting better to study and improve myself,” he said.

Learn more about SSI’s whole-of-community approach to regional settlement:

All in for Armidale: A whole-of-community approach for Ezidi settlement

Monitoring community attitudes toward refugee settlement in Armidale, NSW