But after just three months at TEC Kaddie has a newfound confidence and insight into the business world that has assisted her in gaining a cadetship position with Allianz Australia Insurance Limited.
“TEC helped me gain self-confidence. When I first came into TEC I couldn’t speak, I was so shy I couldn’t voice my opinion but as time went on I got used to my team. They made me feel welcome like I was a part of something,” Kaddie said
Originally from Sierra Leone, Kaddie decided to apply for SSI’s TEC program as she was eager to gain experience and knowledge in a professional environment that would improve her job prospects.
Supported by the AMP Foundation, TEC is a simulated office learning environment that provides hands-on work experience opportunities on a wide range of office-based roles where participants can develop and apply their skills towards a start-up social business.
The program offers jobseekers like Kaddie both technical and interpersonal training. This includes exposure to relevant professional industries, experience working in an Australian professional cultural environment, development of foundational communication, teamwork and leadership capabilities, and multiple employment pathways through corporate partners.
One of the projects Kaddie participated in while at TEC was a marketing campaign for Humble Creatives, a social enterprise of SSI that creates scented handmade candles. Along with a team of other newly arrived job seekers, Kaddie supported the development of a Mother’s Day candle marketing campaign, where she learnt how to conduct a market analysis, create customer profiles, data collection, explore creative and cost-effective branding and packaging as well as being part of the sales team at weekend markets.
During her time at TEC, Kaddie also signed up for ‘Allianz Ladder,’ a pre-employment workshop delivered in partnership with Allianz Australia, supporting refugee youth with the development of core business skills and confidence in finding their first role in Australia. Kaddie excelled in the workshop and was successful in gaining a cadetship at Allianz.
Kaddie described the program at TEC as an incredibly valuable experience where she could connect with her team and be a part of something important.
“I have been able to get out of my comfort zone. I have learnt a lot about marketing, working in a group as a team, brainstorming ideas and building a good relationship with my team.”
Learn more about the Humble Creatives Social Enterprise here: https://www.humblecreatives.ssi.org.au/
Soft Landing Employees stop for a photo with SSI visitors
Soft Landing Smithfield’s move has created much needed jobs for a demographic that faces various barriers to employment, such as a lack of local work experience, awareness about the job search methods, local referees and lack of social networks.
Soft Landing Operations Manager Joe Rasmussen said when the social enterprise’s material recovery machines were compromised in a factory fire, they reached out to SSI in search of people seeking employment with transferrable skills.
Within two months SSI was able to refer 21 experienced individuals from an asylum seeker background. Joe Rasmussen explained that the move has led to a notable increase in productivity.
“The employment team at SSI quickly identified some very hardworking guys to join our team, and overall it has been very successful; growth has meant opportunity at every level of the organisation.”
Sunny, an individual seeking asylum, has been working at the recycling company for three months. He said he has learnt a lot since starting work at Soft Landing, having progressed from cutting and recycling mattresses to pressing steel to making trips with delivery trucks.
“You have to think about your boss as your big brother. You need to support their business so they succeed, because if they succeed you will succeed. Think about the company’s needs and the company will think about you,” he said.
Watisomi, another individual SSI referred to Soft Landing, said he hoped to progress upwards in the organisation.
“It would be great to become a manager or a supervisor, but mostly I am just looking to do my best and work as hard as I can. “
Finding employment is a crucial step in the journey towards social and economic independence. Many vulnerable communities SSI supports require support to overcome barriers to securing sustainable, meaningful employment. The SSI Employment and Enterprise Services team provides individually tailored employment support that generates real outcomes for refugees, people seeking asylum, and other job seekers. Learn more about SSI’s employment services here.
Soft Landing is a national social enterprise of Community Resources Ltd, a chariable organisation that exists to support people and the planet. Soft Landing operates across NSW, ACT, VIC and WA and focuses on diverting waste mattresses from landfill and recovering the materials to recycle. A key focus of the enterprise is providing employment opportunities for people who experience barriers entering the open labour market.
Participants cooking in the Disaster Chef Cook-Off at The Staples Bag Camperdown Grand Opening
This act of humanity welcomed individuals, children and families in dire need of our support and triggered the Australian community to mobilise and help our new neighbours turn a foreign land into their home.
Through partnerships forged between not-for-profits, governments, and corporate Australia, we have helped this cohort begin their new lives in Australia.
But many other refugees and people seeking asylum are still in need of community support in order to achieve their full potential.
For example, securing employment is a critical marker of integration. It sets refugees up for economic independence and helps them to forge social connections outside of their family and diaspora community. Employment is particularly important for people seeking asylum in Australia as they are ineligible for income support. Since last year, the government funded support program for people seeking asylum, SRSS, has also begun exiting people who are deemed ‘work ready’.
Both refugees and people seeking asylum face a number of unique employment barriers such as lack of local work experience or recognition of prior skills and experience. Thankfully, there are more and more community oriented employers who also see great benefit in supporting jobseekers to secure meaningful, sustainable employment. It’s a win-win as they also gain access to a diverse and often untapped talent pool.
A great example of this is Soft Landing Smithfield, which has found work for 21 people seeking asylum. You can read more about that here.
These kinds of partnerships form a key part of the work done by SSI’s Employment team, which partners with up to 100 employers in a given year. SSI’s integrated approach to employment ensures individuals get the right support, while also maximising the services we can provide in a more integrated way and delivering great value for our funders.
Our work in the employment space is constantly evolving. Since July 2015, SSI has supported job seekers through JobActive to become work ready and employable, as well as assisting them to find and maintain a job. That move into employment has since been complemented with a number of social enterprises and diversification into more specialist areas such as the Refugee Employment Support Program.
Our recent win of funding from the iCare Foundation and the NDIS reflects the leaps and bounds we have made in establishing SSI in the employment sector. One program will see SSI upskill injured workers to find work, while the other will roll out cultural awareness training to one of our nation’s largest workforces.
With the help of government and philanthropic funders, community-minded employers, staff and volunteers, SSI is supporting thousands of jobseekers every year to overcome barriers to employment.
In the coming months, one entertaining way you can support more refugees on the pathways to employment is by sponsoring or attending SSI’s Mosaic Gala, which will be held in Sydney on November 15. This event raises critical funds for our scholarships that help refugees to overcome financial barriers to education, along with Ignite® Small Business Start-ups, which supports refugee entrepreneurs into business. This year, we’re particularly pleased to have award-winning author, artist and comedian Anh Do joining us as a keynote speaker. Click here to get involved.
Peter Zographakis
SSI Ignite® entrepreneur Hedayat Osyan giving a TED talk at the recent TEDxSydney 2019 conference.
Hedayat Osyan, a speaker at TEDxSydney 2019, held in May at the International Convention Centre, was part of SSI’s Pay it Forward contingent at TEDxSydney 2018.
“Pay It Forward” is a key component of the partnership between TEDx and SSI, the official community partner for TEDxSydney. Conference registrants give community members from a wide range of SSI programs — including disability services, refugee resettlement, multicultural foster care, and startups — the opportunity to attend the conference for free.
Pay it Forward has a positive, naturally occurring domino effect. The receiver of a good deed repays it to others instead of to the original benefactor and asks their recipients to do the same. That means one good deed or act of kindness can have ripples felt far and wide beyond its starting point.
That is certainly true of Mr Osyan, a 27-year-old former refugee from Afghanistan and an SSI Ignite® Small Business Start-ups entrepreneur who founded a tiling company to support fellow refugees to establish their new lives in Australia.
Mr Osyan 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.
Since Mr Osyan 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, Mr Osyan harnesses his lived experience and trains, employs and supports other refugees and asylum seekers.
Mr Osyan said that his “main goal” was “to help [refugees] become independent and empower them”.
Former refugee Hedayat Osyan is the passionate founder of a social enterprise that employs other refugees and asylum seekers.
A recent 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.
Diversity and disability peer facilitator and mentor Pauline David is another community member that attended the conference as part of the SSI cohort.
As someone from an Assyrian background who has lived with a physical disability from birth, Ms David has experienced social, cultural and structural related barriers her whole life and now advocates for improved accessibility for herself and others.
“Through sharing my story, I hope to challenge perceptions, attitudes and stigmas to help improve community access for people with disability from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds,” Ms David said.
“Attending the TEDxSydney conference helped inspire some new ideas for my advocacy work,” Ms David said.
TEDxSydney Founder and Licensee Remo Giuffré said that TEDxSydney was thrilled to be able to give SSI program participants a unique learning experience through the Pay it Forward initiative.
“At the core of TEDxSydney, we aim to create a connected community, and it’s great to be able to collaborate with SSI and bring the two communities together,” Mr Giuffré said.
SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis said that the collaboration between the two organisations took a fresh approach in encouraging the broader community to get involved and support marginalised communities to attend a high-profile event.
“Through this wonderful partnership, we’re able to provide a seamless way for the wider community to give back to those people who otherwise wouldn’t have the chance to attend a TEDxSydney conference,” Ms Roumeliotis said.
“SSI appreciates the ongoing support and generosity of TEDxSydney and its members, who are empowering people to change their lives through direct exposure to myriad brilliant speakers and thought-provoking conversation.”
Ignite® entrepreneur Sophie Bejek and award-winning restauranteur Sharon Salloum at the Cook for Syria dinner. Photography credits: Nikki To.
Her involvement stemmed from inspiring award-winning restauranteur Sharon Salloum during one of Ms Bejek’s community cooking classes.
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.
She arrived in Australia from Syria as a refugee in January 2018.
Through the support of Inner West Council, Ms Bejek recently requalified as a certified Zumba dance instructor. With the support of Settlement Services International’s (SSI) refugee entrepreneurship program Ignite®, she has now set up a business to run her own classes.
She has also run a project under the SSI Community Innovation Fund to raise awareness in newcomer communities about local farming practices.
“I have seen many issues in the media about Australian farmers, and I am eager to familiarise myself [and newcomer communities] with Aussie products,” she said.
Ms Bejek was introduced to the founder of award-winning restaurant Almond Bar, Sharon Salloum, while running her community cooking classes.
Ms Salloum attended a community gathering at the Refugee and Community Welcome Centre in Callan Park, Lilyfield, where a diverse group of Syrian women congregated over language-learning, cooking, and some dancing led by Ms Bejek.
“It was heartwarming 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 Sophie and the wider group of six women to participate in UNICEF’s Cook for Syria fundraising initiative, in which she had a key role.
Recognised as one of the country’s top culinary talents, Ms Salloum was invited to join forces with the head chef of NOMAD restaurant Jacqui Challinor for the fundraising dinner in August.
Ms Salloum said the experience of cooking for a common cause while incorporating a Syrian stamp on their signature dishes was soul-stirring.
“Collaborating with a group of the country’s most prestigious chefs with a group of Syrian refugees was truly uplifting,” said Ms Salloum.
“For me it made the night [so] much more important, to actually have members of the Syrian community there.”
The group of women from the Laziz Project and the Salloum sisters during the Cook for Syria cook-off. Photography credits: Nikki To.
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. Learn more about the Laziz Project and other funded projects.
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For young people who identify as LGBTIQ+, support can be the difference between life and death. Research on LGBTIQ+ young people shows that having at least one accepting adult in their lives can reduce the chance of a suicide attempt by 40 per cent.
Take a moment to think about that in the context of your own life. For me, I can name a number of people who know me — truly know all parts of me — and accept and support me for who I am.
When I was a little girl, growing up in Bankstown our neighbours were an Anglo-Celtic family named the Salisburys. The Salisburys always made me feel so special about my Greek background. They always called me by my Greek name, Violetta. They were curious about our customs and traditions, and participated in as much as possible. They made our differences special and important. Their support and acceptance made me, as a little girl, feel a sense of belonging.
But it doesn’t take a whole family to ensure someone feels seen and accepted. Every individual can make a difference.
This Friday is your chance to show your support for LGBTIQ+ youth by wearing purple. Wear it Purple Day was founded in 2010 in response to a wave of teenagers taking their lives following bullying and harassment due to a lack of acceptance of their sexuality or gender identity.
When our federal parliament voted for marriage equality it sent a strong message of acceptance, support and inclusion for all people who identify as LGBTIQ+. But the figures show we still have a long way to go. The majority of rainbow youth (61%) experience verbal abuse, while almost one in five (18%) experience physical abuse. LGBTQI young people are 12 times more likely to experience depression and up to five times more likely to experience anxiety.
At SSI, we’re hosting morning teas in seven offices across Sydney and regional NSW. Marking this important day is part of a journey we’re undertaking to make our workplaces more inclusive.
That journey began two years ago, when we came to the realisation that, just because our workforce was diverse, didn’t mean it was inclusive. Since then, we’ve been working to ensure inclusion is the norm — that everyone who works at SSI can bring their whole self to work and receive respect, acceptance and support.
We’ve created a gender and sexual diversity working group, developed a gender and sexual diversity inclusive practice training, created a Champion support network across the organisation, and joined Pride in Diversity — an NFP peak body supporting organisations to lift LGBTIQ+ workplace inclusion. We’ve supported staff to attend the Living and Loving in Diversity Conference and the Better Together Conferences. We made sure that when we hosted our own conference, the International Metropolis Conference, we had sessions on the intersectionality of LGBTIQ+ and cultural diversity.
Underpinning this action is our firm belief in dignity, equality and mutual respect — principles that underpin our human rights and that are shared across cultures, religions and philosophies.
This Friday, I’ll proudly wear purple alongside my colleagues to show that I’m there to listen, to accept, to acknowledge and to support. I hope you’ll do the same.
Friendship Gardners after planting the olive tree.
Over four years of nurturing and growth, the Friendship Garden has welcomed many people from diverse backgrounds, languages and abilities who have worked together to build an inclusive and cohesive community.
Since 2015, gardeners have volunteered their time to transform barren, disused land into green space for community, full of life, vegetables, flowers and opportunities for friendships.
Facilitating the building of friendships and skills, gardening days occurred every Thursday, and a playgroup ran every Wednesday. SSI also organised excursions, workshops and external projects in collaboration with other groups.
This project facilitated tremendous social and economic growth in the community. Through social interaction, we saw English skills improved, self-confidence enhanced, support networks established, TAFE certification attained and employment secured.
On 18 July 2019, the last day of SSI’s ownership of the project, the olive tree, traditionally a symbol of peace and friendship, was collectively 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 towards a positive, united future.
As part of the handover, SSI hosted a Community Voice consultation where participants could voice their thoughts on how to retain, improve and share the friendship garden with the Auburn community.
Some participant suggestions included opening the garden on weekends and growing more fruit and vegetables that could be sold at markets to raise awareness and funds for the garden.
Two long time garden participants, Lk and Ling, said they will continue to attend the garden and be proactive to give back to the community.
“We have enjoyed attending garden weekly and have gained new experiences and learnt about many things from other garden participants,” they said.
Lk and Ling’s thoughts were echoed by community members at the transition, where many agreed that the Friendship Garden helped them feel like they were not alone, as it connected them with nature, and with each other.
SSI staff and the Auburn community 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 look forward to seeing the friendships and harvest that is produced during next year’s community-run and owned Friendship Garden.
Homelands stirred audiences at the annual Coffs Harbour Council Refugee Day celebration, Freedom Feast. (Photo: Jay Black)
Marking the first joint initiative of the newly-merged SSI and Access Community Services, the tour travelled over 1500 kilometres across Australia’s East Coast landing in seven different towns in Queensland and New South Wales.
“I’m thrilled that our first collaboration with Access was so successful,” said SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis. “By joining forces on Homelands, we leveraged the strengths of both organisations, resulting in better outcomes for clients, funding partners and stakeholders in both Queensland and New South Wales.”
From interactive song writing workshops at Loganlea TAFE to a scintillating live performance at Coffs Harbour’s sell-out culinary festival Freedom Feast, Homelands attracted huge audiences with over 2000 locals and people from newly arrived backgrounds coming together to take part in the celebrations.
CEO of Access Community Services Gail Ker OAM said the tour was important in strengthening community ties and fostering messages of inclusion, in addition to highlighting the artistic talent of many newcomers in Australia.
“Homelands was instrumental in providing a platform for many newcomers to continue using music as a form of storytelling and expression,” said Ms Ker.
“The talent and professionalism of the five Homelands artists was exceptional. Being able to produce over an hour of diverse and innovative music in less than 24 hours is only testament to this.”
The tour was the first major collaborative project between SSI and BEMAC and Ms Ker said she hoped that would signal the start of many more joint creative projects.
“This tour was the first of its kind and I hope we can do it again with SSI next year. Collaborating with SSI meant that we were able to broaden the scope of the tour, taking it all the way from Logan, QLD, down to Sydney, NSW.”
While the tour highlighted the power of two organisations combining, a large part of its success was down to the tireless efforts of the hosting partners in each local community.
“The tour would not have been possible without the help of our hosts in the local communities,” said Laura Luna-Zamora, Project Coordinator of SSI Arts & Culture. “They were essential in engaging the community to come along to each show, helping to create a cross-cultural dialogue and a warm and welcoming space for all who attended.”
“Fridays for Future” protest started by Greta Thunberg.
Greta used her acceptance speech to urge people to recognise the link between climate change and mass migration, famine and war. In listening to Greta speak, I was struck by one particular comment: “I was very angry and sad because of everything that was happening, and I just decided that I was going to do something about it.”
Eight years ago, Greta did not even know what climate change was. Now she is one of the world’s leading advocates on this ecological crisis, after launching a school strike that went viral around the world.
Greta’s work is emblematic of a trend Deloitte highlighted last year in research indicating a growing dissatisfaction with political solutions to complex issues such as immigration and global warming.
We can all learn a lot from Greta’s fearlessness in tackling a crisis creating severe socioecological effects for people who are least equipped to withstand them.
Whether you’re in government, civil society, business — or a school student like Greta — we can all take positive steps to address social justice issues.
Social impact is our shared right and responsibility. At SSI, we work with some amazing values-driven companies that generate benefits that extend beyond their customer base to the broader community.
Through partnerships with these community minded corporate and academic institutes, we create real change in our communities.
One such example is SSI’s Ignite Small Business Start-ups initiative, which supports refugee entrepreneurs to establish or expand a small business. To date, Ignite has supported 130 businesses that now employ 68 other people. Over 60 per cent of our Ignite entrepreneurs are now generating enough income to be economically independent.
This program is entirely funded by SSI and our partners. It epitomises the incredible social change that is possible when the not-for-profit, corporate and academic sectors come together with the wider community.
An entertaining and engaging way organisations and individuals support Ignite is by sponsoring and attending SSI’s Mosaic Gala. This event raises critical funds for both Ignite and our scholarships that help refugees to overcome financial barriers to education. This year, we’re particularly pleased to have award-winning author, artist and comedian Anh Do joining us as a keynote speaker. Click here to get involved.
It is only through cooperation from all corners of our society that we can solve social challenges. Like Greta, we have to be fearless. We can’t just notice the problems in our community — we have to act.
Hub members enjoying the day’s festivities.
The close-knit network of new arrivals and Australian-born Muslim women served food to elders and community members, at the NAIDOC celebration of Baaybain Aboriginal Corporation at Mt Druitt.
Community Hubs is a national program that supports migrant and refugee parents and children as they navigate the education system. The Hub at Colyton Public School is one of the Community Hubs supported by SSI in five local government areas of Sydney.
The women from the Colyton Hub saw the NAIDOC celebration as an opportunity to show their respect to the traditional custodians of the land and learn more about Aboriginal culture.
“I wanted to know more about this culture and come to the festival and share our love because Indigenous people have given me so much respect and they deserve so much respect back,” said Coylton Hub member Ansar
The women arrived early to set up a stand where they could present the food they had spent days carefully preparing. Biryani, soups, goulash, homemade bread and gorgeous cakes decorated with the Aboriginal flag were all out of the kindness of their hearts.
The food was served to the elders first, and anything left was given to the wider community. Although they believed they would only have enough to feed the Aunts and Uncles, the women outdid themselves, feeding almost 400 people.
“The food just grew in the pot and we were able to feed the whole community,” said Yesim, who offered small cups of rich Turkish coffee to the crowd.
Most of the women were introduced to Aboriginal culture through their SSI Hub leader Lisa Gobo, a proud Darkinjung woman who takes a unique approach in applying a First Nations cultural approach to healing and community connection.
Through yarning circles and deep listening, Lisa and women from the Community Hub have created a safe community space for CALD, refugee and Indigenous women to gather and be heard.
Najla, who spent the day serving elders and community members with food she had cooked, arrived in Australia just two months earlier. She said she found a deep connection with the Indigenous culture and the women at Colyton Community Hub.
“I really enjoy Aboriginal culture because I like the people and how welcoming they are to their land. They welcome me to their land and now I feel like it is my land too. You give me the strength and it is an honour,” she said.