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
The Friendship Garden connects participants with nature and with each other.
Since 2015, the garden welcomed many people from diverse backgrounds, languages and abilities who worked together to build an inclusive and cohesive community.
On July 18, 2019, the last day of SSI’s ownership of the project, an olive tree, traditionally a symbol of peace and friendship, was planted at the Friendship Garden to mark the great achievements made together and the community’s commitment to continue to support the garden and one another in a positive, united future.
SSI Community Engagement Manager Trina Soulos takes us through the evolution of the initiative.
How did SSI first become involved with the Friendship Garden?
SSI collaborated with Auburn City Council (now Cumberland City Council) in June 2015 to support the expansion of the existing Friendship Garden and transform it into a productive and inclusive community garden project.
What did the project involve?
People involved in SSI programs and members of the public would come together to socialise and learn new skills during regular gardening mornings and workshops. Anyone from the community could volunteer their time to transform the disused land into green space for the community. The gardeners planted vegetables, flowers, whatever plant life they wanted really. Participants would sometimes bring a crop or seed to plant that reminded them of their homeland. I recall white mulberry being planted, which is very popular in Iran and Afghanistan.
We also organised excursions, workshops and external projects in collaboration with other groups.
For many participants, the gardening days became a regular part of their routine. Many were people seeking asylum without working rights in Australia and were waiting on the outcome of their refugee visas. It was a way to keep active and busy, and meet people and learn new skills at the same time.
Others participated because it was a reminder of home. They may have had a big garden in their home country, but only a small balcony in their apartment in Auburn.
We also initiated a playgroup in the garden for families from varied backgrounds to meet new people. It enabled parents to find new ways to connect with their children when they might have limited family or social support in Australia.
Playgroup NSW now runs the garden playgroup.
Each week brought a mix of locals, SSI clients and volunteers from a range of backgrounds. The gardening sessions would often conclude with a shared lunch, either made from the garden produce or brought in by a participant, and a good chat.
What were some of the highlights/milestones of the project?
The evolution of the garden was an example of collaboration between community, an NGO (SSI), and local and state governments.
In 2018, in consultation with community members through every step of its upgrade, SSI and Cumberland City Council worked towards increasing the garden’s accessibility. We received a grant as part of the NSW Community Building Partnership program that allowed us to expand the garden and install an accessible children’s sensory garden offering an inclusive environment for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) families and children of all abilities. We also raised garden beds, paved pathways and built lots of signage to make the garden more accessible.
What was the impact of the project?
This project facilitated tremendous social and economic growth in the community. The social interaction allowed participants to improve their English skills, enhance their self-confidence, make friends and establish support networks, attain TAFE certification through courses, and for some, secure employment.
As part of the handover, we hosted a Community Voice consultation where participants could voice their thoughts on how to retain, improve and share the garden with the Auburn community, and they were able to express how being involved had impacted them.
Many participants agreed that the Friendship Garden had helped them feel like they were not alone, as it connected them with nature, and with each other. They had enjoyed diversifying their skills and enjoyed the common goal of developing the garden and watching it grow.
The project was an ideal example of how SSI’s Community Engagement practice helps to connect people from diverse backgrounds and make them feel included and welcomed in their community.
On behalf of SSI I can say that we are proud to have built a space where people respect and support each other, work as a team to build something beautiful and sustainable, and communicate and laugh together despite language barriers. We know the garden is in good hands for the future!
The Friendship Garden is located at 44A Macquarie Road, Auburn.
SSI’s self-funded Community Engagement function enables participants to form strong links in the community and feel better connected. You can support these initiatives by making a donation.
SSI Arts & Culture has supported over 100 newcomer artists, like George Karam. Photo credit: Anna Kucera
From humble beginnings, this self-funded program has grown to become the catalyst for a number of significant festivals, cultural events, creative workshops and arts initiatives across Sydney and NSW, adding greater diversity and richness to Australia’s cultural landscape.
Since its inception, SSI Arts & Culture has supported over 100 newcomer artists through the Creative Pathways Program to find their creative voice, cultivate their skillsets and connect with supportive and like-minded communities.
When Syrian oud player and qualified music teacher George Karam arrived in Sydney in 2017 after fleeing the ISIS caliphate, he struggled to find work and a platform for creative expression, despite his achievements as a renowned musician.
“When we first came to Australia, we didn’t know anyone and didn’t have any connections who could help,” he said. “But SSI helped by getting me work at parties and also at festivals and cultural events.”
As well as enabling artists to share their artistic skills and cultural heritage, SSI Arts & Culture facilitates a number of live arts events to increase community cohesion and help create a positive – and more layered – narrative around newcomers.
Since he was introduced to SSI Arts & Culture, George has managed to secure a consistent flow of live performances, including SSI’s annual flagship arts and culture event New Beginnings Festival and, most recently, at New Beginnings virtual Freedom Sessions, as part of the trio “Collusion”.
He claims that his proudest moments in life are when he is on stage. “When I arrived, not many people knew what an oud was so, when I go on stage to play it, I feel very proud. I love to present my art to people.”
George appreciates the opportunities his new country has provided; so much so that he is writing a song to thank Australia for all that it has done for him and his family. “It will be in Syrian and English and played with an oud, so it makes a connection between the two countries and between me and Australia.”
Shape the future with us. Sponsorship, partnership and donation opportunities are available now. Be part of the movement towards a more harmonious, inclusive and culturally enriched community. Contact Fundraising & Partnerships Manager Naushin Rahman for more information: nrahman@ssi.org.au
Anaiwan elder Steve Widders with Ezidi community member Khalaf Bari at the 2019 Reconciliation Week bridge walk. Photo credit: Anna Kucera
This has shown us the immense synergy between First Nations and Migrant communities, highlighting that, when we harness the combined wisdom, experience, and power of multicultural communities and First Peoples, we can create a better, fairer society for all.
After a long journey of learning and discovery, we are at the final stages in the development our first Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) and organisational revival vision.
That vision ensures we will listen, learn and share the wisdom of 60,000 years of an ancient culture.
SSI will work towards realising makarrata —birth a new season of kinship, where all people and cultures acknowledge our past, see each other and walk together in the spirit of strength and unity.
The desire to walk hand-in-hand is clearly illustrated by how Armidale’s Ezidi community turned out in great numbers in March 2019 for the city’s Reconciliation Bridge Walk.
One of the most memorable sights was local Anaiwan elder Steve Widders, who is vision impaired, walking arm-in-arm with Ezidi community member Khalaf Bari.
“On the day of the bridge walk, about 70 members of the Ezidi community turned up. Khalaf and another man came up. They said, ‘Please can we walk with you?’ It wasn’t planned. It happened because we have the same heart and we have empathy for each other.
“Communication isn’t a barrier. We stand the same, walk the same, and walk hand-in-hand. This is the beginning of a friendship that will expand through our families and through our respective communities,” said Steve.
Our journey to create a mutual, respectful relationship with First Nations peoples was partly inspired by ongoing yarning circles held between First Nations and newly arrived refugee and migrant women.
Yarning circles have been used by First Nations peoples from around the world for centuries to learn from a collective group, build respectful relationships and preserve and pass on cultural knowledge.
Over the past two years, SSI has supported the creation of yarning circles between First Nations women and newcomers in locations across Sydney.
At these sessions, women have harnessed their cultural connections to voice their experiences, have their stories heard and supported each other to cope with the challenges of settlement and heal from past trauma.
Participants said the women’s circles acted as a safe, sacred space for them to heal, feel connected to the community and gain confidence in themselves.
The circles are about more than conversation. They are an opportunity to heal by acknowledging the pains of the past and the mental scars that come with them, and to work to together to improve quality of life through shared growth and experience.
SSI’s vision is of multicultural Australians and First Nations communities walking hand-in-hand to collaborate and support each other in the pursuit of the best interests of all Australians.
Another major influence on the direction of SSI’s RAP is the Uluru Statement of the Heart, an initiative that calls for a First Nations voice to Parliament and a Makarrata Commission to supervise a process of agreement-making and truth-telling: voice, treaty and truth.
In 2020 SSI voiced its unwavering support for recognising Indigenous Australians in the nation’s constitution and called for corporate Australia to lend its weight to the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
SSI is now in the process of translating the statement into community languages so that in-language sessions on the need to support this proposed reform are available for all Australian minorities.
Nicole Laupepa, SSI Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Specialist, who has been key to the direction of SSI’s revival journey, said, “We’re fortunate enough to have one of the richest and oldest continuing cultures in the world. We should all be proud of and celebrate this.
“The greatest gift the First Nations people gave Australia was the gift of forgiveness. This gift was given in the true essence of reconciliation, to reconcile our nation and restore freedom and peace for all Australians.
“SSI has embraced this gift and has embarked on a journey to unite the nations and end the history of division and conflict through reconciliation.
“It has been a long journey but together we will strive to shape a pathway where everyone has an opportunity to prosper, contributing to an Australia that redefines difference and steps out in courage to build a unified, equal and respectful nation.”
Learn more about SSI’s support for the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
Chris Blackwell now manages SSI’s The Staples Bag
“I started with the SSI Work for the Dole program in August 2015,” Mr Blackwell said. “I began in the SSI Community Kitchen, but soon they started giving me experience with the other program, Humble Creatives.”
After Chris finished his compulsory work experience hours, one of his supervisors encouraged him to interview for an upcoming position. When the social enterprise Humble Creatives started growing, Chris was a perfect fit for the Team Assistant position. Chris attributes his fate to the personal connection he first felt with the SSI program and its staff.
One of his main responsibilities was conducting market research to explore products that provide new skills for job seekers.
Chris is also responsible for supervising the performance of job seekers, making sure they arrive on time, sign their timesheets, and learn new skills each day.
With work experience and local markets and events being affected due to the COVID-19 social distancing restrictions, Humble Creatives took a hiatus, but Chris’ skills have not gone to waste. He is now the manager of SSI’s low-cost grocery store The Staples Bag.
Learn more about SSI Employment Services.