Now, three years later the couple are still looking after their first foster child on a long-term basis, while also helping several other children gain the confidence and structure they need through short-term placements.

Kim and her husband have lived in Sydney Australia for the past 35 years. The couple have one adult son and a 15-year-old daughter.

Kim explains she has always loved having her home full of children. As her son grew and moved out of home, they decided it would benefit the whole family to join the SSI Multicultural Foster Care program

“We decided to foster because we have a lot of space in our home and there are many children out there with nowhere to stay. Part of our decision was influenced by the large gap between the age of my daughter and son, and after my son moved out my daughter was a bit lonely,” says Kim.

When searching for an agency, Kim and her husband, who are of Vietnamese and Chinese background, were drawn to SSI’s emphasis on maintaining foster children’s connection to culture.

“I didn’t want the children to have to go into a family where they look different physically. I liked [SSI] because I felt a child with a similar or the same background would find it easier to feel like they fit in with our family.”

Their foster daughter, who is of Thai background, came into Kim and her family’s care in 2018 at the age of eight.

Kim explains that it took time for Mali* to become comfortable and happy with her family, but that in time she began to accept her new home and did not want to leave.

Kim highlights perseverance and patience as key qualities a foster carer should have, as while the act of foster caring can be immensely rewarding, it has its challenges.

“At times we would say ‘it is too hard; I can’t do this anymore’ but then I would see a positive change in her, and this would change my mind. Now she can come to me to talk about things and I can talk to her. Mali is much happier and wants to stay with us,” Kim says.

While caring for Mali long-term, Kim and her husband have fostered several children in short-term care.

Kim enjoys supporting children to learn new skills in short-term care arrangements and seeing them grow. She explains that she gets the greatest joy in seeing children reunited with their birth family.

“We had two little boys stay with us for two years. I was so happy for them to go home and live with their birth family. It was great to see the changes in them, and to know they could go back to their mum happy,” says Kim.

Kim and her husband feel they have grown as individuals and parents since they began foster caring and plan to continue their journey with long-term and short-term arrangements.

“After three years, I feel that I have gained a lot of experience because I know things will change. I used to think I would never get there, but slowly one day you do, and the kids get it. It isn’t just me that has grown from this, the children learn a lot too,” Kim concludes.

Learn more about SSI’s Multicultural Foster Care Program here.

Or take our Foster Care eligibility quiz here.

*Names have been changed and stock image used.

While this has affected everyone’s freedom of movement, individuals and families from refugee backgrounds have been particularly hard hit — blocked from attaining the safety and stability they desperately need.

The COVID-19 pandemic reached Australian soil in March, and since then the Federal Government has close our borders to all entrants, allowing only Australian citizens, permanent residents, or immediate family into the country.

This has meant Australia’s refugee intake has been on hold for the past seven months, causing havoc amongst the refugee community and around the world.

As a daughter of migrants, and CEO of Settlement Services International, I have found it disconcerting to see the widespread impact that factors outside of our control can have on the ability for individuals find a safe haven.

In light of this, last week, we spoke to SBS about the many refugees who were granted humanitarian visas by the Federal Government earlier this year, and who had their dreams suddenly cut short by the COVID-19 induced border closure.

Some of these refugees are now stranded amid an enduring pandemic with no jobs, refuge, or hope. In some cases, people are stuck in limbo, forced to live in unfamiliar countries separated from family and friends.

Just one of the examples I have seen of this is the experience of David Odeesh, who was elated when his sister and her family were granted humanitarian visas by the Federal Government in January.

The family had been forced to flee their hometown of Mosul, Iraq, and escape to Lebanon due to the threat of Islamic State. They were to arrive in Sydney in March this year, but six months on, Mr Odeesh, is still waiting for them to be allowed to enter the country.

Separation from loved ones is just one of the many factors that can contribute to the endemic sense of loneliness experienced by people of refugee backgrounds during their early settlement.

There are many reasons refugees and asylum seekers experience loneliness in Australia, including a lack of community connections and support, language barriers and a limited income that does not enable them to be socially involved.

In these challenging times where isolation is rampant, it is paramount for social services like SSI and the local community step up and support newcomers who do not have the social support network most Australians can rely on.

SSI’s Volunteer program and volunteers such as Shazia Mia are on the front line in helping combat this loneliness by welcoming new families and migrants to Australia and sharing what makes Australia “a great home”.

While working full-time in Sydney’s CBD as a corporate professional, Shazia also works as a volunteer ambassador for Welcome2Sydney; an innovative volunteer program that encourages newcomers to develop a sense of belonging.

It was co-designed by the City of Sydney SSI and has been expanded to greater Sydney.

Shazia shared with us her belief, that I believe aligns with the foundation of the work we do at SSI:

A community only flourishes if you connect with each other, and we have to make connections with people.’

That sentiment is reflected in Foundations for Belonging: A snapshot of newly arrived refugees, a research report by SSI and Western Sydney University, which shines a light on the importance of refugees’ social connections in their successful settlement and integration

It points to actions including leveraging the willingness of refugees to volunteer, to strengthen reciprocal social and civic participation, and community initiatives that facilitate the meeting and exchange between refugees and the receiving communities at the local level.

I truly believe that when circumstances, such as border closures, are out of control, it is vital we focus on supporting refugees living in Australia’s positive sense of welcome and trust in neighbours and neighbourhoods.

The infrastructure supports provided by grass-roots programs such as Welcome2Sydney and SSI’s Volunteering enable people like Shazia to put the wheels in motion for a more socially inclusive and cohesive Australia.

If you would like to learn more about our Volunteer program, we would welcome you to join us–post pandemic–at the next Welcome2Sydney event.

Serina Saka (L) captured with her family.

Arriving in Sydney airport in 2019, the Saka family were greeted by Settlement Services International (SSI), who provided them with wrap-around case management services, including finding temporary accommodation.  

Ms Saka is currently enrolled at Mary Mackillop Catholic College as a Year 11 student. She did not speak English when she first arrived and has demonstrated her determination to learn the language through her volunteering at the school library and providing student support through orientation activities.

“I help new students by providing orientation of the school and helping them to feel welcome,” Ms Saka said. 

“Some of them don’t know the language like me, and I want to help them.”

Recently, Ms Saka requested assistance from her SSI case manager to find a casual job within the Fairfield area and was supported in developing her resume.  She met with her case manager at Neeta City Fairfield, and they went to over twenty local shops, requesting to speak to store managers and hand in her resume.

The manager of the café, The Big Hot Dog, was impressed with Ms Saka’s positive attitude and offered her a trial starting the next day. 

After only a trial period of two short days, where she was making coffee, serving customers, and wiping down tables, Ms Saka was offered paid employment. She said that she was very grateful for the support of her case manager.

“Everything at work is good, I love it so much,” she said.

“I work every Saturday and Sunday, thanks to the help of my SSI case manager.” 

Ms Saka spent her first payment on getting professional driving lessons as she obtained her learners permit in August last year, but didn’t have the opportunity to drive yet. When asked what she thinks about Australia, Ms Saka expressed that she feels settled in her new home. 

“Australia is so good, we love it so much,” Ms Saka said.

“Here in Australia, you can reach your dreams and find work, but back in Iraq, it’s harder as a woman, you marry when you’re 18.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed underlying racist tendencies among members of the Australian public, media and government. First, Asian Australians bore the brunt of racial abuse, and now some are shifting the blame onto migrant communities as a whole.

New data emphatically challenges the prevailing narrative that newcomer communities are somehow responsible for the second wave of the virus parts of Australia are experiencing.

In fact, our recently published study into COVID-19 knowledge and prevention among culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities highlights that these groups actually take the pandemic very seriously – disproving much of the racist stereotyping seen in the media in recent months.

As part of this study, SSI conducted a survey of 810 clients from different families in our Humanitarian Settlement Program residing in Fairfield, Liverpool, and Campbelltown Local Government Areas. The aim was to understand their experience and perception of COVID-19 and to ensure they were receiving up-to-date information.

Data collected suggests that respondents are engaging in all the recommended safety measures and are taking active measures to ensure their safety and the safety of the community at large.

Unsolicited, individuals from these communities offered hand sanitiser, hand washing, social distancing and minimising going out and wearing masks as some of the actions they were taking to minimise the risk to themselves and others.

These actions are not exceptional; rather, they are expected to be practised by communities right across NSW. Unfortunately, there is no widespread data capturing behaviours in the wider community for comparison.

We are all responsible for the spread of COVID-19 and, just like the wider community, newcomers are aware and engaging with COVID-19 information in high numbers.

But, once again, we are using our troubles – this time in the form of a pandemic – to blame and alienate newcomers. First, migrants were to blame for housing prices, then a rise in crime, then congestion and now the spread of a virus.

As we face the single biggest economic, health and social crisis to emerge in our lifetime, perhaps it is not surprising that we would look for a way to simplify and shift responsibility for the situation.

So, what do these findings teach us about effectively communicating COVID-19 awareness and prevention practices to all communities, including culturally diverse ones?

We have found, time and time again, that for a message to get through to people, they need to hear it from their communities, and that they want support through their own community networks. To achieve this, it requires working effectively through thorough engagement with community leaders and groups.

Solidifying this is the immense determination we have seen from community leaders across NSW to connect with people, peer-to-peer, through trusted relationships, to communicate health and safety messages.

It is time to reflect on whether the top-down approach to communication is actually effective. My conclusion is that it is not. Responses to the pandemic, and indeed any crisis, need to be tailored to diverse audiences, and communicated through channels they know and trust.

We cannot assume that a one-size-fits-all approach will filter down to the grassroots level, particularly without the information infrastructure support of organisations like SSI.

In challenging times, it seems the public react with what appears to be Australia’s muscle memory, to blame the foreigner, the minority and those who are different to us.

To move forward from this unsettling habit, it is important that we take a step back, review the facts – which in this case, clearly identify CALD communities as responsible, aware members of a COVID-19 society – and look to ways we can do better to ensure a safer, fairer environment for all.

Paula with some of the week’s Care Package supplies and pre-made meals to be distributed to those in need.

Ever since COVID-19 hit Australian shores, Paula has been working to ensure individuals and families seeking asylum in Australia, who are not eligible for federal government employment support packages, do not go hungry.

Paula leads SSI’s Care Package program, which was designed in early March following government issued shutdowns across NSW.

The program was developed to support individuals on temporary or on bridging visas who lost their source of income due to the shutdown and as a result were struggling meet their basic needs.

Since the care package initiative’s inception, over 350 households, including single adults, young families and women at risk have been supported to put food on the table and meet their basic needs.

“I am seeing people in dire situations. Living standards are in many ways like situations I witnessed abroad while working in resettlement. It troubles me that this is happening here in Australia,” said Paula.

Paula explained that at the beginning of the pandemic, she met with families who had lost their source of income and could not receive support from the Jobkeeper and Jobseeker initiatives. As a result, many had burned through their savings and fallen four to six weeks behind on rent.

Now, with no clear end to the COVID-19 pandemic in sight, these families are facing over 14 weeks of rent arrears.

“Some of the people [seeking asylum] are now homeless. I have seen abusive text messages from landlords and heard stories of young single women being evicted from the security of their homes.

“At the same time, I have seen a letter from a landlord begging for rent money because he has lost his job and his wife has just given birth,” she said.

It is not just individuals and young couples on bridging visas who are struggling to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table, Paula has seen many parents and young children visit SSI seeking support to feed their family.

“Children are not exempt from this hardship. Many, too young to understand the situation are going hungry and cold while other children who are old enough to understand what is happening have shared that they feel the burden that falls on them,” explained Paula.

Settlement Services International, dedicated staff such as Paula and other non for profit organisations are doing their very best to support the individuals and families struggling with the ongoing fallout of COVID-19. Despite their best efforts, there are still individuals in our community falling through the cracks, with limited support from the government’s welfare safety nets.

“I want to ask Australians, how do we expect to come back from a situation like this?” Asked Paula, “Should we be more accountable on a personal and community level or should this be left for the state and federal government alone?”

“The answer is both. SSI is just one part of a great unmet need. We should all keep in mind that this current crisis is affecting all of us and we can do and be better especially now.

“The first step is being kind and reaching out to your community members. You can also write a letter to your local MP expressing your concern,” said Paula.

Click here to donate to SSI’s care package program.

Learn how to write to your local MP here.

For single mum, Linh, becoming a foster carer has been one of the most rewarding experiences of her life.

In the middle of our country’s health and economic crisis, it is tempting to let this news pass unnoticed. Between the bushfires, COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent recession, 2020 has been a year for the history books and wreaked a devastating toll on our communities.

But most of us alive today have also been witness to another part of Australian history – one that I am certain will be viewed alongside the frontier massacres and the Stolen Generation as a dark blight on our shared heritage.

Offshore processing was first introduced under a Labor government in 2013, and it has continued under our present leadership as a deterrent to people seeking asylum in Australia by boat.

According to Human Rights Watch, more than 3,000 people have been interred on the camps on Manus Island and Nauru, and today, around 370 still remain there in limbo. Some 700 were resettled in the United States, while another 1,200 were transferred to Australia for medical treatment. More than 200 of these people are still detained in detention centres and hotels.

Those who have been fortunate enough to move to the community have experienced intense hardship – and this has only worsened with the recent pandemic. A survey SSI conducted in May showed that temporary visa holders like these people seeking asylum are going without food and medicine as a result of COVID-19.

Still, there is a glimmer of positivity in Friday’s news that Behrouz Boochani has been offered a permanent safe haven in New Zealand. As I’ve previously written, Behrouz obtained a temporary visa to visit New Zealand for a literary event last year. Being officially recognised as a refugee means he now has a permanent future away from Manus Island.

“I am very happy to have some certainty about my future, I feel relieved and secure finally,” he told The Guardian.

In Australia, we have also seen our state governments step up with funding and support for temporary visa holders, including people seeking asylum, international students and working-holiday makers.

You don’t have to be a government decision maker to help people seeking asylum during this pandemic. For example, SSI has opened up a referral and support clinic in Parramatta that is open to all people in need – regardless of visa status. This has created support for people seeking asylum who are ineligible for many government-funded programs and welfare. We’ve also begun offering tailored support for entrepreneurs from refugee and asylum seeking backgrounds to assist them to navigate this pandemic and implications for small business.

They are small steps in what we hope is a larger shift in the way our country perceives and treats people based on their visa type. This pandemic has shown that we are only as strong as our most vulnerable community member.

Violet Roumeliotis

SSI CEO

He now uses his firsthand experience and academic expertise to help other people from migrant, refugee and asylum-seeking backgrounds find home in Australia.

After arriving in Australia, Bashar, like many newcomers, struggled to find employment and find his place in the wider community.

“I was really lost, and I went through a stage of depression. I couldn’t work as an engineer and I couldn’t find any simple job. It was a struggle,’ he said.

Bashar explained his breakthrough moment was beginning work in the real estate industry, where he developed a strong connection to Sydney’s refugee and migrant communities.

“When you work in the real estate industry, you meet people. You enter their houses and are more exposed to their struggle. I was very successful in that area, but I realised that I felt the need to help people in different capacity.”

Now, 15 years on, Bashar has shifted professions from Engineering and business into the social and education sectors; having gained a degree in Adult Education, a master’s in Social Sciences and a Diploma of Art Therapy, among various complementary qualifications.

He now works as a Community Liaison Team Leader at Prairiewood High School, Arts and Community Development Consultant at the Fairfield Arts & Community Development Centre and is President of the Australian Mesopotamian Cultural Association Incorporated.

As a leader in the Sydney’s migrant and refugee communities, Bashar uses his skills to help newcomers survive and thrive in this rapidly changing COVID-19 world.

For example, throughout the pandemic, Bashar has continued running the Centre for Arts and Community development, a privately funded community organisation he established in 2014.

One of the programs Bashar currently runs out of the center is the Community Engagement and Empowerment Program (CEEP), which is proudly funded by the Scanlon Foundation and an auspiced by STARTTS. CEEP works with people from refugee and asylum-seeking backgrounds to help them increase their capability and build their capacity to find a job.

Throughout the pandemic Bashar has also collaborated with Sydney’s creative community to develop Arabic language videos for the public, to support their wellbeing and reduce stress during COVID-19. He plans to continue developing online in language content and expanding his focus into English language learning. You can find Bashar’s videos here.

Bashar and his team of volunteers at the Arts and Community Development Centre have also been working hard to adapt to changes in the employment sector driven by the looming economic crisis.

“We want to know how we can help the community be ready for a new, and little bit tougher stage. This stage requires individuals to develop new skills to remain competitive on the job market and a new mentality.

“On top of this, people, particularly those who have survived trauma, need to be able to maintain their wellbeing. Wellbeing is so important, because if you lose your inner peace, your world and work challenges will attack you, and this can trigger their PTSD from within,” Bashar said.

Driving these projects is Bashar’s passion for supporting people from refugee backgrounds to harness their skills and achieve their full potential.

“People from a refugee backgrounds who have managed to live through war zones and the trauma that comes with it are survivors. They have already taken the step to be engaged with life, so we [the wider community] just have to activate their inner powers and let them believe they can do anything,” said Bashar.

Visit the Arts & Community Development Facebook page here.

Learn more about another of Bashar’s projects, The Peacemakers Ensemble here.

* pseudonym and stock photo used to protect individual’s identity

“I was forced to leave my marriage and had to leave my kids with my mother. Once I arrived in Australia I said, ‘I can’t go back because I am so free’. Sometimes I cry for them, so if I could help them come here to Australia, I would be a happy person.”

While Saira continues to deeply miss her two daughters, aged seven and five, over the past two years the 32-year-old has surrounded herself with her Australian family.

“[Australia is a] very different country to Africa. I have my family back in Africa, but the people I have met [in Australia] are also like my family.”

Arriving in a foreign country with little contacts and no family is an extremely daunting task. In the first year of settlement, Saira found it difficult to find a job due several factors, including her lack of local work experience. She explained that she desperately needed to work to support her daughters and was beginning to lose hope about settling in Australia.

In an effort to pursue work in the disability sector, Saira completed a Certificate IV in Disability shortly after moving to Australia, however she faced barriers to gaining employment in this field.

In March 2019, she contacted SSI, who delivers the NSW Government’s Refugee Employment Support Program (RESP), to seek support in finding employment. In the first three years of the

program, RESP has supported nearly 2,000 individuals from refugee and asylum-seeking backgrounds like Saira to gain employment.

Saira shared she was eager to build her savings to save for purchase a new vehicle, which she would use as transport when working as a disability support worker.

She was then supported by the RESP to map out a career plan that would provide her with the steps she needs to take to become job ready, find employment and start saving. She met regularly with RESP staff and received guidance on different topics such as Australian work rights and work culture, practicing interview skills, and applying for jobs through online job websites.

As a result of the support Saira has received from the RESP, she went on to complete studies in Process Manufacturing from Gateway Training Academy and found employment with TOLL Group for a pick packing role in November 2019.

Saira explained the support of those around her, and especially Sandra, her case worker, has been key in establishing herself.

“Because of the Coronavirus I lost shifts in my job. So, I had to call Sandra and ask, ‘Sandra I do not know how to pay my way’ and she showed me what to do, told me where to go and who to contact if you are an asylum seeker and need help.

“Now, I know who to call when I need some food and they help me by bringing it to my house. Sandra has always helped me and told me what to do next. She is just like that. She is like a sister to me.

“This is what Australia is to me. I have received a lot of help.”

Saira is extremely grateful to have found employment and is working towards to her dream of working in the disability sector with the support of the RESP team.

“I have a lot of empathy and want to help children. So, my goal here is to work in disability, particularly with children.

Learn more about SSI’s Employment programs here

To mark ‘The Year of Welcome’, SSI and the Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University, launched new research during a virtual event on June 18. The research challenges narrow economic definitions of successful refugee settlement and, instead, suggests social and civic dimensions are equally valid markers of refugee integration.

Foundations for Belonging: A snapshot of newly arrived refugees, reveals that refugees are building mixed social networks, which helps them to trust Australian institutions and fulfil social responsibilities. It points to a series of actions that governments, policymakers, service providers and civil society can pursue to strengthen their contribution to settlement and integration.

SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis said, “It is fitting that, in a Refugee Week with the theme ‘Celebrating the Year of Welcome’, this study shows that refugees have a strong sense of welcome and belonging in their everyday lives.

“They feel part of the Australian community, regularly seek to get to know people from cultural backgrounds other than their own, demonstrate high levels of trust in their neighbours and neighbourhoods, and, despite language barriers, are developing social bridges grounded in the sense of welcome and support offered by the broader Australian community.

“This research will provide a solid foundation for community engagement initiatives that facilitate meeting and exchange between receiving communities and refugees.”

The launch featured a panel discussion moderated by ABC News reporter Lydia Feng, with research co-author and Western Sydney University Senior Research Fellow Shanthi Robertson, SSI Settlement Services Manager Dor Achiek and Refugee Council of Australia Policy Officer Shufuka Tahiri. The discussion was preceded by a presentation of the research findings by the paper’s co-authors Tadgh McMahon, SSI Research and Policy Manager, and Shanthi Robertson, and included Q&A.

Click here to tune into the recording of the virtual event. As the Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA)’s event partner, SSI contributed to the ‘Year of Welcome’ campaign to educate the Australian public about refugees and to celebrate the contribution that refugees make to community.

Due to the current climate, SSI and RCOA engaged communities and the wider public by virtual means, and developed a suite of online resources, webinar-style events, and mini interactive online activities and campaigns across SSI’s and RCOA’s websites and social media channels. Refugee community champions and ambassadors were identified to lead creative activities.

RCOA and SSI co-hosted a forum focused on refugee and asylum-seeking women and leaders of frontline services to share their experiences of life during the COVID-19 pandemic.

SSI curated a virtual exhibition, Connecting through Welcome, showcasing submissions from the community about what welcome means to them.

Here are some of SSI’s key media highlights for Refugee Week 2020:

ABC News (TV)

The Conversation

SBS News

Primer