Saif has a bachelor’s degree in medicine and surgery from the University of Baghdad College of Medicine and has worked for four years at Al-Imam Ali Hospital in Iraq.
In the beginning, Saif, who had come to Australia by himself, faced difficulties settling, including with the language barrier, the new system, culture and lifestyle, and with overseas qualification recognition processes. To work as a doctor in Australia, international medical graduates need to complete the AHPRA (Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency) registration requirement by passing the Australian Medical Council (AMC) exams, as well as an English test.
On a friend’s recommendation, Saif contacted SSI in October 2018 for help with his employment journey in Australia, starting with understanding the process of getting his qualification recognised.
SSI’s Refugee Employment Support Program (RESP), an initiative of the NSW government, supported Saif to complete the Australian Medical Council exams, occupational English test exam, and eventually his AHPRA registration. RESP also provided financial support and educational courses that helped him pass the exams. Additionally, SSI assisted Saif to get a driver’s license through driving lessons and helped with workshops about finding jobs in Australia. This essential support was crucial and made a huge difference to Saif’s journey.
After two years of hard study and struggle, Saif secured a job as an Emergency Resident Medical Officer at Royal Hobart Hospital; back practising medicine, and back on track, saving lives.
Saif recently wrote to his RESP Employment Facilitator, Sevan Chilingeryan:
I would like to thank the SSI team especially my case managers Sevan, Marlen, and Rahaf, for their guidance and help they provided. Great job.
– Saif Noori
IoNV’s three arms — education and training, a therapeutic and clinical program, and a social lens that focuses on advocacy and research – bring a particular focus on domestic and family violence with a focus on being more inclusive of Australia’s multicultural communities.
“I want to address how we can entrench our work in this (intersectionality) framework, rather than thinking of it as an attachment. That’s a massive task,” she said.
“Australian systems are Anglo and Eurocentric. What comes with this is an Anglo view of what family is and what family violence looks like.”
Ms Abdelnour, who has a background in psychology and social work, said that her business offered a framework and set of tools for people working in the family and domestic violence field, supporting them to deliver an inclusive approach to the issue.
“We want to work with everybody to create a model that is culturally safe and inclusive,” she said.
Ms Abdelnour established IoNV this year with support from Settlement Service International’s (SSI) Ignite Small Business Start-ups program.
The business will be officially launched online on November 25 in collaboration with poet Luka Lesson whose new song commissioned by IoNV will premiere at the event.
The launch coincides with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls and day one of ‘16 Days of Activism’.
“IoNV wouldn’t be where it’s at if it wasn’t for Ignite. They gave me access to a world I wouldn’t have known how to access. I mean that in terms of the things you need when you’re setting up a business structure so that it can have longevity,” Ms Abdelnour said.
Ms Abdelnour emigrated from Lebanon with her family at the age of 9, as the country was in a civil war. While she has lived in Australia for most of her life, her migrant experience has posed unforeseen challenges for her in starting a business.
“Regardless of how long you’ve been here, it’s not having a historical connection to Australia, or to people who understand Australia and how the system and government work.
“I grew up listening to my parents discuss a political landscape that’s on the other side of the world.”
Her experiences as a first-generation migrant, coupled with an extensive employment history with culturally diverse communities and individuals, resulted in Ms Abdelnour’s business being built on the foundations of intersectionality.
“I worked in men’s behavioural change programs and, at the same time, I was consulting with the family violence sector on workforce development, training design and delivery, and inclusion. There was an alignment of events that led me to grow exponentially in a short period.
“I was able to bring my experiences working with people from diverse backgrounds and traumatic life experiences to aid my understanding of how this interacts with family violence. It became the perfect marriage of knowledge and skill from the past into the present.”
Some of IoNV’s research and advocacy work is reflected in Ms Abdelnour’s research paper, a report commissioned in 2020 by the Victorian Multicultural Commission, into enhancing the services available to culturally diverse men who use violence.
“There were significant gaps where communities reflected that they (perpetrators of family violence) didn’t feel culturally safe in the existing model,” she said.
“Service providers also felt they didn’t have the resources they needed to work inclusively with diverse communities. The multicultural sector expressed a strong interest in wanting to be more trained and skilled in the family violence sector.”
Ms Abdelnour will present at a webinar on the findings of the report on December 10 to complete the final day of ‘16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence’.
Watch SSI’s 20th anniversary interview with CEO Violet Roumeliotis here.
SSI was launched with a Humanitarian Settlement Services contract in February 2000 – commencing operations on August 1, 2001 from a small building in Holden Street, Ashfield.
Back then, we were called the NSW Migrant Resource Centres Association. We employed 23 people and were focused on early settlement and multicultural Australia in the Sydney area.
Fast forward to today, we have expanded to be in the top 1% of Australian charities (as listed by the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission in 2018) – having expanded our workforce to over 800 employees and broadened the scope of services we provide, and the states we have a footprint in.
This period of growth has taught me the immense value in collaboration between communities, organisations, sectors, and governments at all levels. I am deeply proud of initiatives such as the NSW Settlement Partnership (NSP), which brings together the grassroots expertise of 21 organisations to deliver settlement services under the Department of Home Affairs’ Settlement Engagement and Transition Support (SETS) program.
Initiatives such as the NSP work as an opportunity for organisations with a long and proud history in service delivery to migrants, refugees, and humanitarian entrants, to work collaboratively to address collective aims and objectives.
Despite our growth, SSI’s focus on supporting newly arrived refugees and those seeking asylum to settle in Australia and reach their goals and full potential has been unwavering.
We have expanded on the supports we provide, developing new innovative programs and thought leadership initiatives, and responded quickly to local national and international crisis, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
In late 2018, SSI grew substantially, when Access Community Services, one of Australia’s leaders in multicultural support services based in Queensland, became a subsidiary of SSI.
This was a huge milestone in our history. Working as one organisation, Access and SSI came together to strengthen our position and support service growth around the country and collaborate to provide better outcomes for clients, funding partners and key stakeholders.
At the same time, I believe that one of SSI’s greatest successes as an organisation has been the diversification of the support we provide.
The experience and insights created, relationships SSI has gained over the past 20 years, has enabled us to expand our services into other areas including foster care, disability, and the support of LGBTQIA+ Australians and First Nations communities.
Just this year, SSI began our delivery of the Local Area Coordinator (LAC) services for the NDIS to over 16,000 people living in Sydney and South West Sydney areas, marking a huge step forward for the organisation.
We also recently expanded our Multicultural Foster Care Program (MFCP) into Victoria, an exciting step for such an innovative program that has broadened SSI’s impact since it was launched in NSW in 2013. The MFCP approaches out-of- home care in the ‘SSI way,’ utilising our cultural expertise to ensure children are supported to learn about and maintain a connection to their ethnic background, religion, and language, to achieve better outcomes
This has demonstrated how culturally informed and diverse organisations like SSI can add value and voice to wide ranging services. In partnership with community and clients we bring a unique approach to culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) – and non-CALD communities, through bespoke case management models and an expansive community mindset.
Despite all this growth and change, I am proud to say that SSI’s core values, client focus, and mission has remained consistent.
We continue to be a client-focused organisation that provides individualised services to support people and communities to reach their full potential. Our work and strategies are focused on walking alongside our clients and communities, giving them agency and voice to ensure that they live the life that they want to live.
And this vision would not be possible without our staff, who’s dedication, community connection and expertise, has, and always will be, the bedrock of the work SSI and Access does.
In fact, SSI’s entire identity is absolutely founded through people – the people we are comprised of, the people we support, and the stakeholders and communities we work with. No matter the circumstance, our success is built up from mutual, receptive relationships, that are focused on building capacity and power together.
We will carry this approach into the coming 20 years, where I aspire for SSI to spread our vision and organisation across the country; creating an impact in all states and territories.
We will also strive to have impact internationally through thought leadership and social justice policies. In what can be predicted as the turbulent years to come, we will do our best to ensure that the voices and needs of the globe’s most vulnerable are heard, represented, and included in international discourse.
As we approach the conclusion of our 20th year it is clear now more than ever, we need robust social supports. The pandemic has illustrated that locally, nationally, and globally, we are only as strong as our most vulnerable community member.
SSI’s mission is centred around this adage, and we have held and practised this principle well before it was highlighted by the current crisis. This year has been immensely difficult for SSI and the communities we support.
Despite this, the challenges we have faced have solidified our resilience and our ability to adapt and be innovative.
Reflecting on our history, has reminded me of the storms we have weathered over the past two decades, and the support and hard work of SSI staff, that have kept our vision alive.
I am proud to lead an organisation like SSI and work alongside a group of compassionate, driven, and dedicated people.
Looking ahead to the future, our vision remains the same, and our passion keeps us moving. To you, our supporters, I want to say thank you, I hope you will follow along as we continue to advocate and support communities over the next 20 years.
The family has faced numerous challenges in its journey towards its ultimate goal: achieving a fulfilling, independent life for the children. Now, with the support of LAC planner, Erin, they are closer than ever.
Disabilities can affect individuals to varying degrees and in different ways. This is illustrated through Eve’s three children, who face different challenges associated with their cognitive, behavioural, or social disabilities.
Eve’s daughter Rhiannan, aged 21, is thriving in her work as a Disability Support Worker. She has just bought her first house and is about to begin nursing studies at University.
“Despite being the middle child, she is both her brother’s protector; doing whatever it takes to support them,” said Eve.
Michael and Damon* have both faced significant challenges to their day-to-day functioning and receive support through the Local Area Coordinator (LAC) program.
Eve’s eldest son, 27-year-old Michael, is an articulate, engaging man with a passion for reading. He was born with a learning disorder and is on the Autism spectrum. He has previously volunteered with the Australian SES and one day hopes to take advantage of his love for structure and focus in a career as a police officer.
Damon, aged 20, was born with Autism and lives with severe oppositional defiance disorder.
“He is a funny character, though, and a great person,” said Eve. “He tries really hard, but it is quite tricky for him.”
Although it was initially challenging to find a supporter who connected with Damon and Michael, after meeting SSI LAC planner Erin, they have both seen significant improvements.
Eve said that, before they met Erin, Michael’s wellness had deteriorated to a point where he was at risk of being kicked out of his home.
“He had become a complete recluse, refused to speak to anybody, including his own family, all because he didn’t have the support he needed. But Erin has been amazing with him and helped me to get the support he needs,” said Eve.
Erin’s assistance has helped Michael to get out of the house once a week and visit the family to have a dinner. He has been able to maintain the property he lives in and is well enough to consider joining self-development programs.
Damon has also seen significant improvement, having reduced the frequency of violent or aggressive responses after he was put in contact with a therapist he can trust and be open with.
The connection Erin made with Michael and Damon was key to their success.
“A close connection with the caseworker is really important because having that gets better outcomes for my sons. That is crucial, I believe, for them to get the support they need and eventually become independent,” said Eve.
Damon has also built a close, positive relationship with his support worker, who’s ongoing support has been integral to his progress.
Although the journey has not always been easy, Eve and her husband are determined to give their children the best quality of life possible and support them to achieve independence. The family is well on their way to achieving that.
“This has been so challenging, but my boys did not ask to be born with a disability, and we focus on making the absolute most of the life we have.”
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SSI recently took on the role as a Local Area Coordinator (LAC) provider in the Sydney region. As an LAC provider, SSI supports people aged 7 and over to access the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and other mainstream services in the community.
For more information, visit www.ssi.org.au/local-area-coordination or call 1800 960 975 to speak to with the SSI LAC Intake Team.
*Pseudonym and stock photo used to protect individual’s privacy.
In Syria, Mr Smith studied engineering and worked at a travel agency. While in limbo in Lebanon, he worked as a supervisor for eight unisex clothing stores.
Arriving in Australia, Mr Smith was met by the Settlement Services International (SSI) team, who took him to his temporary accommodation and assisted him in settling into his new home.
The Australian Government’s Humanitarian Settlement Program delivered by SSI has ambitiously sought to find Mr Smith education and employment opportunities since his arrival.
SSI provided him with useful information and guidance about the workforce, and he independently furthered his studies and secured work.
Since making Australia his home, he has harnessed his bilingual skills by supporting the elderly community.
“I actually have this job because I speak Arabic and English. People in aged care who are from the Middle East can often only speak Arabic, so they need help,” he said.
Mr Smith completed a Certificate 3 in Community Service at TAFE and then job-hunted online, where he found a position as an aged care worker.
With a history of assisting the elderly, his aged care patients often describe him as being “their son”. Back in Syria, he would regularly be called on to help his grandparents, as he was one of the only young males in his family fit to help.
Mr Smith has close interactions with aged care patients, as his job is to help them shop, bathe, translate and speak with them when they need human connection.
He said that the people at the facility were friendly and he had a good relationship with them.
“Most of the time, they will ask for me when I’m not there. They will ask, ‘Why hasn’t JS come? We need JS.’”
Mr Smith is determined to further his career and has aspirations to continue his studies.
“Next year, I want to do my Certificate 4 at TAFE for aged care and disability. I also want to get a diploma and one day go to university to study community services,” he said.
While Mr Smith has flourished in his work, he has had to overcome social adversity due to his sexuality.
“I have had challenges with my community. They didn’t accept my sexuality,” he said. “The best community I have found is the Australian community.”
Mr Smith also has a close relationship with his family, who have accepted his sexuality.
His mother likes his partner of four years, who is still in Lebanon waiting to have his humanitarian visa granted.
“The Australian community wanted my help because I can speak two languages,” he said.
“I love to help people wherever they are.”
* Name changed to protect anonymity
SSI Ignite® entrepreneur Hedayat Osyan giving a TED talk at the TEDxSydney 2019 conference
Since Hedayat came to Australia in 2010, his passion for pairing social responsibility and entrepreneurship has been significant. After graduating with a bachelor degree in politics and international relations and an honours degree from the University of Canberra, he worked as a youth consultant for the Cumberland Council, MYAN NSW and Community Migrant Resource Centre.
As the passionate founder and managing director of social enterprise Nick Tiling Services, Hedayat harnesses his lived experience and trains, employs and supports other refugees and asylum seekers.
Hedayat says that his “main goal” is “to help [refugees] become independent and empower them”.
Testament to his dedication to the cause was his selection as Young Social Pioneer by Foundation for Young Australians in 2018 and First Gens Accelerator by ygap in 2019. Also in 2019, Hedayat was selected as a speaker at TEDxSydney 2019, after being part of SSI’s Pay it Forward contingent at TEDxSydney 2018. Pay it Forward was a key component of a partnership between TEDx and SSI where community members from a range of SSI programs were given the opportunity to attend the conference by generous conference participants.
Hedayat was so inspired by his 2018 TEDx experience that he took part in one of the 2019 pitch nights and finally spoke at the main event, where his message around welcoming refugees reached an audience of 5,000 people.
Hedayat was supported by Ignite® to found Nick Tiling Services, which has trained and supported more than 43 people from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds and has completed 85 projects in NSW.
SSI developed Ignite® to facilitate small business creation for people from a refugee background who want to start their own business or expand an existing one.
Research indicates that people from a refugee background display strong entrepreneurial qualities, with a higher than average proportion engaging in small and medium business compared to the general Australian population.
Ignite® harnesses these qualities and delivers the first start-ups program in Australia to focus on refugees, based on an enterprise facilitation model developed by the Sirolli Institute.
Find out more about the SSI Ignite® Small Business Start-ups program and help other refugee entrepreneurs by making a donation.
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.