Customers at Rashays Punchbowl, seeking to be one of Australia’s most inclusive restaurants.
The nationwide commitment of the restaurant brand, which comprises 22 restaurants and four food court locations, was inspired by Rashays’ Punchbowl store owner Bashar Krayem and his staff, who jumped at the opportunity to learn Auslan (Australian sign language) and work to reduce the barriers for members of the deaf community seeking to access the restaurant.
Mr Krayem, who won an Australian Muslim Achievement Award in the “Man of the year” category in 2017, is passionate about giving back to the community.
“We live in the community and we are around community, so we try our best to deal with the community in the best way possible and whatever work we can do to create a good environment for community,” he said.
In line with his beliefs and influenced by the Zero Barriers movement — an initiative driven by the Multicultural Network and supported by the NSW Business Chamber, three local governments in South West Sydney and Settlement Services International — Mr Krayem looked for other ways to make an impact in his community.
“Our goal is to become one of Australia’s most inclusive restaurants,” he said.
On May 18, Rashays Punchbowl opened its doors to customers with autism and their families by hosting Sensory Hour Iftar dinners. The restaurant dimmed its lights, turned off electronics, stopped using machinery that made excessive noise and, most importantly, promoted the initiative to families of children with autism through the local not-for-profit organisation “Gift a Smile”.
“This is the first time that I have felt that it was okay to take my child to a restaurant ever since he was born,” said one of the mothers attending the Iftar dinner. “We finally have come to an environment where we feel accepted and not have to worry about being judged.”
Zero Barriers project officer Zizi Charida said, “Seeing the smiles on the children’s faces is incredible and shows how this movement is really making a difference in people’s lives.”
The large number of staff and extra support required to initiate the Sensory Hour activities meant there was additional financial cost to the restaurant. However, Rashays saw it as a long-term investment resulting in more customers accessing its restaurants and a more inclusive and happy community overall.
Sean Williamberg, Inclusion officer at the NSW Business Chamber and former restaurant owner, said, “Profitability from making a restaurant more inclusive triples on average as most of us do like to access restaurants with at least two other people, not to mention that inclusive restaurants mean happier communities resulting in a more productive society and willingness to spend locally.”
The Sensory Hour dinner was inspired by the Maori word for autism “Takiwatanga” — which means his/her own time — and the teaching of Islam to look after your peers.
SSI’s Multicultural Disability Inclusion and Promotion Officer, Javier Paul Ortiz, said, “The combination of spiritual and cultural beliefs to fuel inclusive practices reflects the vibrancy of Sydney’s south-west and the strength and courage of leaders like Mr Krayem to pave long-lasting systemic change for people living with diverse abilities and living across all our communities.
“We can all take a lesson from Rashays and think about the opportunity and benefits that stem from making our communities more inclusive.”
Rashays Punchbowl hosts Sensory Hours every Wednesday from 5pm to 6pm.
Watch Rashays Punchbowl Sensory Hour video.
We realise that influencing positive and fair social justice policies in Australia requires engagement with global communities, and in particular engaging in networks and fora that incorporate a global perspective on mass migration movements and critical refugee situations.
Image: SSI’s Humanitarian Settlement Program Manager, Yamamah Agha, NGO Rapporteur for the consultations
This year, the consultations and associated events held at the end of June in Geneva provided us a unique opportunity to influence global refugee policy by conveying the voices of the people we support and those of our partner organisations.
These were heard alongside others with lived experience, NGOs, international and UN organisations, UNHCR and community-based refugee organisations who met in person to share experiences, learn from others and plan ahead.
This year SSI’s Humanitarian Settlement Program Manager, Yamamah Agha, was selected for the role of NGO Rapporteur for the consultations and, with the assistance of a team in Geneva and at home, ( I want to particularly acknowledge the outstanding work of Katrina Grech and Carmen Ghaly ) was able to capture valuable ideas and perspectives to inform the event’s final report.
Yamamah Agha’s full summary speech at the closing plenary of the UNHCR Annual Consultations with NGOs can be viewed here.
The inaugural Global Summit of Refugees was held prior to the consultations, with Adam Buraijami, Team Leader of the HSP Welcome program, representing SSI. The summit brought together refugee-led organizations and change-makers from around the world to discuss lived experiences and propose solutions for a more effective and sustainable global refugee policy. We congratulate Paul Power and the Refugee Council of Australia for its pivotal role in this ground breaking event.
During this time in Geneva I was also invited to present on “new forms of cooperation in reception and integration of resettled refugees”, as part of the UNHCR Annual Tripartite Consultations and Working Group on Resettlement, where I spoke about SSI’s successful corporate partnerships, such as SSI’s Allianz Ladder program.
I left these discussions more motivated and determined than ever to continue SSI’s great work in this space.
SSI was also proud to participate in the sixth and final formal Consultation on the Global Compact on Refugees. This was a historic event and the finalised compact will be crucial in solidifying international commitments to a shared responsibility for hosting and supporting the world’s refugees.
I believe refugees need to be a part of informing global policy that affects their lives, and to that end it was invaluable to bring the voices of the organisations and communities we support into the consultation process.
Thank you for your continued support of SSI.
#NaidocWeek2014 – Because of her we can
Celebrations during NAIDOC Week were found across all parts of our community. SSI has historically participated in NAIDOC week through the activities of its partners and programs but this year it increased its involvement.
It has always been a critical part of SSI’s philosophy to recognise the Indigenous owners of the land in which SSI operates and settles new arrivals. It has now committed to strive beyond its current levels of Indigenous participation as part of a strategy to embrace diversity and build on SSI’s reputation as an inclusive organisation servicing the needs of the people it supports and their communities.
SSI is a diverse group of people working with diverse communities, and it considers it important to continue to build an inclusive culture within the organisation and among those with whom it works.
As part of SSI’s Humanitarian Settlement Program (HSP), SSI has created an Indigenous Participation Plan (IPP), with the intention of increasing the number of Indigenous employees in its staff and increasing its spend with Indigenous businesses. SSI will also be improving its engagement externally with Indigenous communities and, internally, building on its understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, histories and cultures.
This NAIDOC Week SSI was proud to participate in several events of its own and with its partners. In its Ashfield, Liverpool and Parramatta offices SSI staff attended screenings of the indigenous feature film Occupation Native, which was promoted as part of NAIDOC Week 2018.
Almost 200 people attended SSI’s NAIDOC celebrations at the Auburn Friendship Garden and Community Kitchen. SSI brought people from all walks of life, newly arrived to established community members, to learn about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and practices. Explore the Facebook gallery of photos.
Most people were not at first familiar with NAIDOC but everyone left with a better understanding and established positive connections throughout the day.
SSI Community Engagement Practitioner Diana Nguyen expressed thanks to Kinchella Boys Home for their support and for bringing the Uncles, Community Greenings for delivering a Native Food Talk, Mt Druitt Indigenous Choir, Bunnings for providing a free pot painting workshop and giveaways, the Community Engagement Team at NDIA, Max Employment, GWS Giants, and Cumberland Council Children’s Services.
Captured are Inner West locals at the Spirit of Welcome event at the Community and Refugee Welcome Centre.
The New Beginnings Festival for Refugee Week is the first instalment of SSI’s 2018 New Beginnings Arts & Culture Festival — a refugee-led art exhibition showcased works that were created through a series of workshops.
Creative workshops were facilitated by artists from refugee backgrounds for newly arrived communities. Artist facilitators included Atefeh Hekmat and two other leading artists, Damon Amb and Majid Rabet. Click here to view an interview with the lead artist facilitators.
SSI New Beginnings Festival Producer Raphael Brasil said that the festival this year demonstrated how collaborative work and community engagement are key elements to building a sustainable and diverse arts community.
“With the Community and Refugee Welcome Centre being established as a new cultural and artistic hub in the Inner West, I am confident that we have achieved an important exchange between artists and newly arrived and local communities,” said Mr Brasil.
The festival launched with an intimate invite-only event marking World Refugee Day on June 20 and closed Open Inner West festival on June 24 at the Community and Refugee Welcome Centre in Callan Park. The two events brought together newly arrived refugees and Inner West locals for a celebration of creativity, arts and community.
Mr Brasil acknowledged the success of the work that had been done by the lead artist facilitators who not only ran the creative workshops but also curated the art exhibition that was comprised of works created by newly arrived artists.
“None of this would have been possible without the fantastic work led by Majid, Atefeh and Damon, and the leadership of people like the Centre Coordinator Moones Mansoubi and all the staff and volunteers involved from both SSI and Inner West Council.”
The Community and Refugee Welcome Centre Coordinator Moones Mansoubi said that the Centre is all about bringing communities together and that the SSI New Beginnings Festival provided an ample opportunity to do just that.
“We were honoured to host more than 300 people during Refugee Week; the festival brought artists, newcomers and locals together and reminded us that diversity is beautiful,” she said.
Ms Mansoubi said that the diversity of music, dance, short films and workshops created a thriving arts hub and is an excellent example of the successful collaboration between the Welcome Centre and SSI Arts and Culture program.
“It was a pleasant collaboration, I would like to acknowledge Inner West Council for supporting us throughout the workshops and the festival, and we look forward to celebrating Refugee Week with the New Beginnings Festival at the Welcome Centre in 2019.”
Some standout festival highlights included a performance from The Solidarity Choir that ignited a sense of collective consciousness in the room, and a traditional Assyrian performance by George Karm placed audiences in jovial spirits. Intricate creative workshops led by the Community Tapestry Workshop and Traditional Kite Making engaged participants in practical and meaningful ways.
Captured are workshop participants at the Opening Event of New Beginnings Festival.
The upcoming SSI New Beginnings Festival in Spring is a highlight event of the cultural program of the 2018 International Metropolis Conference.
Hosted in Sydney’s iconic Darling Harbour, this one-day arts and culture festival promotes the talents, vitality and diversity that people from refugee and migrant backgrounds bring to Australia’s creative sector. The outdoor festival will feature live music, dance performances, kids’ workshops and food and market stalls with an array of international cuisines and cultural handicrafts.
SSI visited Belvoir St Theatre to thank Belvoir and the cast and crew of Sami in Paradise for their support of SSI Refugee Scholarships.
During the world premiere season of Sami in Paradise, every performance was dedicated to raising funds to help refugees minimise financial barriers in attending high school, vocational training, university, or having their skills and qualifications recognised.
Naushin Rahman, SSI’s Partnerships and Fundraising Manager, said, “We are so grateful to the Sami in Paradise audiences for their generous donations, to the cast and crew for their passion and commitment to the cause, and to Belvoir for coming up with an innovative way to involve its community in supporting refugees as they find their feet in their new home.”
Sami In Paradise is Nikolai Erdman’s subversive play The Suicide, adapted and contemporised by director Eamon Flack and the company of actors to become a madcap dark comedy with a subtle dose of pathos.
Set in a refugee camp that is home to a man at the end of his tether, it seeks to cut through polarising debates about refugees.
Mr Flack said, “The play is about the idea that no human is better than any other human, and even if you are robbed of all the basics of your life and all of your dignity, it doesn’t mean you are less than anyone else. This isn’t a play about other people and other places, it’s a play for anyone who wakes up in the middle of the night feeling a bit worried about the future.”
Among the cast, featuring Yalin Ozucelik, were Mandela Mathia and Hazem Shammas — who after each performance called out for audience support for the scholarships.
Mr Shammas recalled how Sami in Paradise led to a surprising reunion with Mr Mathia.
“About 10 years ago I was involved in some workshops for young refugees and new migrants out at Blacktown, in western Sydney,” he said.
“The workshops were held by Playwriting Australia to give kids, especially these particular kids, an opportunity in developing drama skills, playwriting and skills in theatre.
“One of the kids there was a 15-year-old Mandela, who I think had just arrived in Sydney and was starting his new life. So we spent the week and he wrote a scene that was good enough to be included in the following year’s Playwriting festival.
“So on the first day of rehearsal for Sami in Paradise, Mandela comes up to me and says, ‘I know you’ and I think ‘What, have I done something wrong?’
“I didn’t recognise him of course 10 years on.
“Then he reminds me that years ago he had done that workshop and that I’d played his dad in a scene he wrote. And I think, Wow! I was blown away.
“Now here he is. He’s just graduated from Nida and we’re about to share the stage on his first professional gig.
“I was so humbled and inspired that I always want to tell this story. Because throughout the project we teamed up with an organisation like SSI to promote and support the opportunity-building experiences that we hope could continue to encourage new Australians.
“And here, with Mandela and I, we’ve got this kind of full circle coming together. Like I would never have thought back then one of those kids was going to end up doing what we do and here we are.
“And he’s now given his work to do the same thing for someone else. It’s great and something that I think we should all be proud of.”
SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis and SSI Chair Elisabeth Shaw at the TEDxSydney 2018 Conference.
The SSI and TEDxSydney partnership involved a “Pay It Forward” initiative where conference registrants were able to give participants from a wide-range of SSI programs, including disability services, arts and culture, multicultural foster care, refugee resettlement, entrepreneurs, youth services, and employment and training the opportunity to attend the conference for free.
Captured is SSI program participants with company Cuscal who sponsored 10 tickets at the value of $3,500.
SSI Ability Links participant Abrahim Darouiche attended the conference and said that he was eager to gain ideas and new ways to promote inclusion within his community for people with a disability.
“I am looking forward to accessing new ideas and ways of thinking, innovation, and inspiration for my own business and endeavours,” Mr Darouiche said.
Mr Darouiche grew up in Western Sydney from a culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) background. Due to his conditions, finding ways to participate in his community had its challenges.
“I found adolescence, in particular, a challenge. I was constantly asking myself where I fit in within the community,” he said.
Education pathways were not straight-forward for Mr Darouiche, but he managed to overcome barriers and has a Bachelor of Business and Commerce, along with a Master’s degree. Today, he is an active member of the community and provides peer support through many initiatives and programs.
“I currently work with Disability and Diversity Alliance to run peer support groups to empower people with disabilities to carve their voice in the community.”
Mr Darouiche has launched his own public-speaking business and works with NSW Business Chamber, SSI, and local governments to promote access and inclusion to businesses.
“I give talks and presentations to businesses and community leaders about the unique assets that people with disabilities can offer to organisations and business, and the value of having them as employees.”
Award-winning artist and former refugee from Iraq Bassam Jabar, also attended the conference. Mr Jabar was announced the winner of Art in the Hills prize by former Archibald Prize winner Cherry Hood back in 2015.
Mr Jabar is a budding entrepreneur and participant of the SSI Ignite Small Business Start-ups initiative; his artworks have attracted the attention of notable galleries including Kirra Galleries at Melbourne’s Federation Square. He was asked to comment on what “HumanKind” means to him at the conference, watch his interview and hear his heartfelt words on the topic, click here to view.
The SSI New Beginnings Festival curated an interactive dance workshop led by Shyamla for the Mind Body & Soul tribe in the Hub. Shyamla Eswaran is an accomplished performing artist specialising in cultural dance, including Hip Hop, Bollywood, Semi-Classical Indian and Brazilian Samba.
Before launching her own multicultural dance performance initiative, Ms Eswaran worked for the Australian Human Rights Commission and was well-equipped with a Master’s degree in International Human Rights Law.
“I worked for the Australian Human Rights Commission before realising that the best way to effect social change is through the arts,” Ms Eswaran said.
As part of the TEDxSydney after-party, the SSI New Beginnings Festival curated a performance by Sydney Hip Hop artist Kween G. Born in Uganda, Kween G came to Australia after her family was granted asylum and creates music that excites, entertains, and enlightens her listeners — she is often described as “consciousness-raising”.
SSI Ability Links participant Xiaolong Yang is a middle aged single father who is living with physical and psychiatric disability due to an injury suffered in his workplace seven years ago. He is on a disability support pension, and his main carer is his teenage son Brendan. As his carer, Brendan had to look after Mr Yang on a daily basis, forcing him to miss school from time to time.
Mr Yang came from China 19 years ago and had little knowledge of how the government system worked due to language and cultural barriers. After connecting with SSI Ability Links through his linker Kathy, they began learning more about the NDIS, looking at ways to gain support from it and how to have a more active participation in the community.
Mr Yang was able to attend NDIS workshops to obtain information on how to prepare documents to apply for NDIS support. He managed to set up and submit his plan, having it approved in November 2017. Through this plan he has accessed several services including physio, golf games and carer services, which have helped improve his mental health.
He was also linked to the Diversity Disability Alliance (DDA) to acquire peer support services. After three sessions, he attended a DDA mentor training and became a peer support mentor which gave Mr Yang the skills necessary to organise a Chinese care group and be more connected with his community.
With the support Mr Yang receives from his NDIS plan, Brendan is now studying at Sydney University and working as an administrative assistant.
Participants of the train the trainer session receive their certificates and resources to champion inclusiveness in their communities.
As a first step of this process, 22 community leaders from CALD backgrounds residing in Blacktown, Parramatta, Cumberland, Fairfield, Liverpool, Bankstown and Willoughby councils were consulted on the particular barriers faced by CALD people with disability in their communities, and what resources and information could empower the leaders to address those barriers. From this consultation, a train the trainer package was developed and delivered by Ability Links, and supported by local governments, the NSW business chamber, and SSI. The project equips community leaders with the narrative and resources to promote inclusion whilst addressing the barriers faced by people with disability to enable them to fully participate in their community.
Community leaders are volunteers that hold influential status in their communities, from board members of organisations to business owners and community organisers, whose common thread is their connection to their community and a drive to make them inclusive for everyone, regardless of their ability. These leaders are now ready to train their community members on diversity and inclusion, targeting attitudes and understandings on disability as an added layer of diversity.
The community leaders are the owners of the project, and they can gain support and advice from their local SSI Ability Links or local government representatives for the delivery of this training to their communities. With many of these leaders coming from a CALD background, this will enable these leaders to deliver some of those presentations in their own language.
“This project is about passing the knowledge and resources to the community, so they can better deliver the message of inclusion to all their members”, said Mr. Javier Ortiz, Diversity Inclusion officer at SSI. “Through the participation on this project, SSI is contributing to support local and state governments’ inclusion strategies and build more inclusive cities”, added Mr. Ortiz.
The presentations in the communities will occur between September and December, but this will not be the end of the project. The objective is to foster long lasting relationships and create the grass roots to continue passing on resources to create more inclusive communities.
Toy Drive
To start I’d like to recognise the truly inspiring work of our SSI volunteers who have taken the initiative in organising the hugely successful toy drive throughout this month! We’re still receiving offers and donations from over a dozen businesses around Armidale, watch this space in the near future as we’ll be giving a shout-out to all the businesses who have made our toy drive such a success!
The Working Group
June 1st marked the first day of the Working Group. The Working Group provides an avenue for emerging leaders within the newly arrived community to speak and represent themselves or various cohorts in the community regarding issues important to them. SSI works closely with the Working Group to plan and implement strategies to achieve their goals. Women, men and youth are represented at the meetings that take place on a fortnightly basis.
The Working Group is a great avenue for community members and support services to share their initiatives directly with leaders within the Yazidi community to guide their work. This week we will have a representative from St Vincent de Paul to discuss volunteer opportunities. Northern Settlement Services will also attended to discuss funding opportunities for youth.
Collaboration with Sanctuary
June 7th marked the first day of meetings between Sanctuary and SSI. Both of our organisations have a wealth of experience in supporting new arrivals to the community and SSI will work closely with Sanctuary to support our newly arrived families in Armidale. Meetings will take place every fortnight and in the meantime our joint process of working together are still being mapped out, but I’m confident that the collaborative efforts of both organisations will prove a great benefit to our families and the community.
Multicultural Women’s Evening
June 30th will be a celebration of culture through food, dance, traditional costume and music at the UNE Wright Centre Hall. UNE International Students Hub, Northern Settlement Services and SSI are working together to ensure a great night had by women in the Armidale area. An educational piece will also be provided through presentations by the Armidale Women’s Homelessness Support Services, to educate and inform women of services available to them and their children. We’re also very fortunate to have Wild Women Band play for us on the night. The purpose of the evening is to assist women in connecting to each other, the community and support services in the Armidale area through a shared love and respect of different cultures.
Council Afternoon Tea
Armidale Regional Council held an afternoon tea on World Refugee Day – June 20th to commemorate the strength, courage, and perseverance of refugees. It was a great turn out by the newly arrived families. We were also lucky to have Muzafar Ali and Khadim Dai, former refugees from Afghanistan and Leads of the recently screened ‘The Staging Post’ feature film, as well as Steve Widders (Member of the Multicultural NSW Advisory Board and Chair of Multicultural New England Regional Advisory Council to the Board) who all attended the afternoon tea. Thank you to Armidale Regional Council for hosting such an amazing event.
The Screening of ‘The Staging Post’
As previously mentioned, the screening of ‘The Staging Post’ was presented by SSI and Armidale Regional Council and hosted by the Belgrave Cinema for Refugee Week 2018.
The Staging Post is an Australian feature documentary that was filmed in 2017 and follows the lives of two Afghan Hazara refugees, Muzafar and Khadim.
Stuck in Indonesia after Australia ‘stopped the boats’ and facing many years in limbo, they built a community from the ground up and started the Cisarua Refugee Learning Centre (CRLC).
It conveys powerful messages about friendship and connection. The film’s key and most powerful message is around the resilience and agency of refugees to generate change and create solutions.
The film was an opportunity to foster a positive narrative in local and regional communities about refugees and resettlement.
Following the screening of the film, Lindsay Woodland from Armidale Regional Council facilitated a Q&A style panel featuring the film’s leads Muzafar Ali and Khadim Dai and Armidale Yazidi community member Sarbast Qassim.
Thank you to Armidale Mayor Simon Murray, Aboriginal Elder Hazel Green, Armidale Regional Council, Belgrave Cinema, SSI staff and of course those on the panel- Khadim, Muzafar and Sarbast for a fantastic evening. The feedback has been very positive and appreciated by those who attended.
That’s all for this edition of Sam’s Space, keep an eye out for more announcements from SSI and our community partners!
A great time for carers to look after themselves
“Carers of people with disability always put those who they care for first, and are not often acknowledged; they are tireless supporters of their loved ones, sometimes relegating their own wellbeing” said Ms Amita Lama, SSI Ability Links Linker who organised this wonderful event. “Carers enjoyed two hours to focus on their health and wellbeing, through beauty therapies, henna, wellbeing conversations and gentle exercise”.
“I feel so pampered today”, “I don’t remember when was the last time I painted my nails”, “I would have never thought of pampering myself if I was at home, usually I do cleaning and other house work but never to do anything for myself”, were some of the comments from the 16 carers attending the special morning.
Ms Farah Vayani, carer for her child with disability and facilitator of a support group with the Autism Community Network in Castle Hill, shared some of her thoughts on why it was important for carers to take time to look after themselves. “We as carers often forget about ourselves,” she said. “Sometimes we can feel like we are about to break, and we need to understand that in order to care for others, we need to take care of ourselves. It’s difficult for us to do it, but once we do, it’s a big change and we feel invigorated.”
Ms Vayani said, “Sometimes caring for a loved one with disability can be isolating; it’s important to look for support, have the space to share, vent, and understand we are not alone.
“We want to promote these spaces in the community. Carers make a tireless effort and they need to be rewarded. It’s very important to dedicate some time for self-care, and why not laugh — laughter is the best medicine.”
Carers spent a wonderful morning focusing on themselves and re-energising to come back to their everyday lives giving their best to the loved ones they care for.