Others serve their own interests, consuming whatever lies in their paths, like locusts. I like to think that as a person who has led teams in successful organisations, we have employed honey-bee-type practices that have seeded fruitful, sustainable organisations with positive outcomes for its employees and the communities they work with.
I’ve always approached business with integrity, focusing on values, rather than financial outcomes. It was heartening to have this recognised on Friday, when I was selected as a NSW category winner and national finalist in the Telstra Business Women’s Awards.
Given that around half of the 5,000 applicants for the awards originated from NSW, I was honoured just to have been selected as one of the 24 state finalists — each of whom had an inspiring story of carving out their own path to business success.
I was one of four innovative and entrepreneurial finalists in the purpose and social enterprise category, and I was joined on the night by my daughter, one of my sisters and my mother.
Growing up, my parents always encouraged us to be generous to others and to help others whenever the opportunity arose. We saw firsthand the applied values of integrity and respect, something which I carry with me to this day.
As the child of migrants, I also saw many injustices and indignities thrust upon my parents and my extended family and members of the community. I witnessed racism and prejudice, small mindedness and cruelty. Yet I never felt a sense of helplessness or fear. I was inspired by my parents and family and their capacity to take each day and make what they could of it —to celebrate achievements and to collectively commiserate ill health, death, or misfortune.
This drove my deep commitment to social justice and the lifelong belief that every person has the right to meet their full potential and to live the life they chose. It nurtured a sense of self-belief that helped me to overcome obstacles and motivated me to dream big. It lit a fire that has yet to go out!
As the CEO of Settlement Services International, I now lead an organisation with values that mirror who I am and what I stand for: social justice, equality and a fair go for all.
I’m grateful to have a platform to raise awareness about social justice and to be a role model for multicultural women and female leaders — to show that you can make it to the top with your character, conviction and passion intact.
I have been so inspired by the women who I’ve met through the Telstra Business Women’s Awards, and I wish to offer my congratulations to all of the NSW finalists, including those who are progressing to the national awards! It was a privilege to have spent time with a group of such interesting and impressive leaders.
Violet Roumeliotis
SSI CEO
Ms Kual has been a foster carer with SSI Multicultural Foster Care for six months, since she began to take care of her daughter’s one-year-old son.
Ms Kual arrived in Australia in 2000 as a refugee from Sudan and settled in Blacktown, where she started working as a carer in a nursing home. However, she has had to stop working in order to take care of her grandson.
“Alaweia is an admirable woman who holds strong family values and believes family members should have each other’s backs in difficult times,” SSI Out-of-Home-Care Caseworker Amandah Nkomba said.
“For this reason, she decided to sacrifice the hours of the stable job she had and the financial stability it brought, in order to be there for her grandson.”
Ms Kual said she was extremely happy about being recognised as a finalist at the 2017 NSW Grandparent of the Year Awards as it highlighted the importance of having grandparents involved in their grandchildren’s education so they could grow up in the right way.
Besides her role as a kinship carer, Ms Kual is also an active member of the Sudanese community in Blacktown, where she supports newly arrived youth and families through the local church.
Every Sunday, Ms Kual attends church with her grandson and stays for the day to help source clothes, furniture and other items that might be required by members of the community who have recently arrived in Australia as refugees.
Ms Kual is also a member of the committee to organise the Youth Cultural Day, where members of the Sudanese community gather and celebrate traditions through dancing, singing and food, enabling young community members to learn more about their background.
Mahdia is originally from Iran, where attending school was all but impossible due to social and financial barriers. Instead, she studied in private and went to an institute to learn English. But that all changed when she came to Australia by boat in 2013 with her mother and brothers.
SSI provided Mahdia and her family with essential support while their application for refugee status was assessed. Best of all, she was enrolled at Holroyd High School, where she caught up on her education with lots of hard work.
“Once I finished high school at Holroyd, I was given a full scholarship to study nursing at Sydney University and now I’m in my second year of nursing, and next year hopefully I will be graduating as a nurse,” she said.
But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing for Mahdia. Because of her visa status, she had to overcome many hurdles to continue her education after school.
“You don’t know what’s going to happen in the future. You’re working really hard, but you don’t know if you’re going to get there or not. You see your friends, normal local students applying for uni. They don’t have to go through all the things you’re going through,” she said.
Mahdia is now working part-time as a child care educator. After she graduates, she plans to do a one-year graduate program to finalise her qualification. In future, she hopes to continue her education by studying for a master’s degree.
“I wish people would judge refugees from a different perspective. You might not have liked the way we came to Australia, but we came here for safety, better education and a better life. These all sound so cliché, but you wouldn’t truly understand it unless you actually experienced not having those in your life,” she said.
“I wish people would understand that a refugee is just a label and underneath it all, we are all humans, we are all equal, and refugees have dreams and hopes for a better future like everyone else does.”
You can support people like Mahdia to achieve their full potential by donating to SSI.
Fast forward to September this year and Elaha was on the stage at the inaugural SSI Mosaic Gala talking about the important role education has played in her life.
After completing a university degree in India, Elaha had been halfway through her master’s degree when she was granted a humanitarian visa, giving her a permanent home in Australia. With the help of SSI, she is now in the final year of her degree and looking forward to graduating next year.
Over a night of entertainment, food and music, the SSI Mosaic Gala raised funds for SSI programs that help people like Elaha to overcome the barriers to achieving their full potential in the areas of education and employment.
Guests enjoyed a degustation menu featuring cuisines from around the world while learning about the important work SSI does to support refugees.
Master of ceremonies, Sunil Badami, managed a full program of entertainment, including traditional dance and musical performances, a speech from an entrepreneur supported by SSI and a keynote presentation by Magda Szubanski.
SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis said Elaha’s story showed the incredible impact everyday Australians can make in the lives of refugees.
“Initiatives such as educational scholarships or our Ignite Small Business Start-ups initiative put refugees on a level playing field with those of us who have been lucky enough to grow up in a country that is free from war and persecution,” she said.
“Thanks to the incredible efforts of the volunteers, staff, supporters and donors who contributed to the SSI Mosaic Gala, we can support more people like Elaha to live independent, fulfilling lives, where there are no barriers to achieving their full potential.”
Special thanks go to Verve Portraits, Humble Creatives, Blue Water Sailing, Amy Basnett Art, Pan Macmillan Australia, Turtle Beach Resort, Nikon, Carla Zampatti, Naomi Hamilton Photography, CKT Family Trust, The Star, Happy Buddha Retreat, BIG4 Holiday Parks, Jenolan Caves, World Apartments, Mineralism, Latin Dance Australia, Bluegums Cabins, Taronga Zoo, Belvoir, and Sydney Theatre Co.
*Elaha’s name has been changed for privacy reasons.
Connective Collective is a joint initiative between SSI and White Pages Australia that comprises a pilot program and welcome pack designed to help migrants and refugees to find the services and businesses they need to build their new lives.
Designed by White Pages Australia in consultation with SSI, the packs include flashcards to help new arrivals learn English and a directory introducing the small businesses that have signed up as Connective Collective members, including those with bilingual employees.
Connective Collective was launched in September by the Federal Minister for Small Business, Michael McCormack, at an event supported by Liverpool City Council Australia and Western Sydney MRC.
Addressing the event, SSI General Manager Peter Zographakis said building a sense of belonging in Australia was just as critical to successful settlement as finding housing or enrolling in school.
“The migrant and refugee journey necessarily disrupts established social networks and attachment to place. For those from refugee backgrounds, any sense of belonging comes under threat, affecting connection to family, peers, local community and country of origin,” he said.
“This is why SSI is so pleased to be partnering with White Pages in the Connective Collective pilot in Liverpool, helping new migrants find the services and businesses they need, to make connections, to feel at home.
“That can mean being able to find the fruit and vegetables required for meals they enjoy, being confident there is someone who understands their problems when they visit the doctor, or having a receptive ear while getting their hair cut.”
Mr Zographakis said rebuilding this sense of belonging also had benefits for the wider Australian community as it contributed to community cohesion, economic outcomes and purposeful multiculturalism.
SSI will distribute welcome packs to new arrivals in the Liverpool area in the coming months. To find out more about Connective Collective, click here or watch this video:
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It’s heartbreaking to see images of children strapped to their mothers’ chests, fathers carrying on their backs everything they own, and to hear of the arduous journeys individuals and families have undergone to reach safety.
While details vary about the exact situation in Myanmar, what we do know is that more than 480,000 Rohingya have been forced to flee to Bangladesh since August, joining hundreds of thousands of Rohingya already crowded into refugee camps in the neighbouring country.
The Rohingya are a stateless Muslim minority who are widely held to be one of the world’s most persecuted minorities. We count among the SSI community many warm, hardworking people from Rohingya background who have come to Australia to start lives that are free from war and persecution.
One such young woman is 14-year-old Asma, whose touching poem was recently shared in NSW Parliament by Senator Lee Rhiannon:
Seeking the future we have lost
The place where we all used to share our dreams
The place where we truly knew ourselves
The place where we go when we are hurt or sad
The place where our parents, grandparents and their ancestors grew up in
The place where we, the Rohingya Muslim minority have been living on for centuries
All we want is freedom.
I would encourage you to read Asma’s full statement.
For the past few years, the humanitarian crisis in the Middle East has gripped our attention and led to huge support for refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria and Iraq.
Now, with our own region in the midst of a refugee crisis, we have a responsibility to find a way to help. This might be by making a personal donation to frontline organisations such as UNHCR or running a fundraiser, like SSI staff did last month.
Over 80 staff members from teams across Sydney attended a lunch event in our Bankstown office where they raised $1,200 for the UNHCR Rohingya appeal. The money will go towards tents, food, sleeping mats, tools, and hygiene and other essential items.
You could also volunteer your time to support Rohingya people who are living in Australia — many of whom are new to our shores and have family and loved ones affected by the situation in Myanmar. You can support community organisations such as the Burmese Rohingya Community in Australia or volunteer with organisations that work with refugees and people seeking asylum.
Volunteers play a critical role in helping new arrivals to build a sense of community. They can be people’s neighbours, the fellow mum at the playgroup or the smiling face at the community garden, when we who work in funded settlement services cannot.
If you’re unable to support offshore efforts, I would encourage you to reach out to our Rohingya neighbours in Australia and offer your support. It’s these acts of welcome that help new community members to find their sense of belonging and build a new life in Australia.
Violet Roumeliotis
SSI CEO
Mr Ikwu was CEO of a large public company in his homeland at the time of his admission to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and within a short period of time, became extremely ill. The severe virus attacked his bones and as a result, he had both his legs and hands amputated, followed by losing bone mass in his nose.
Mr Ikwu’s wife was only able to join him from Nigeria 12 months after he fell detrimentally ill. He currently lives in Beecroft in a unit that specifically caters to people living with disability, which is supported by Uniting.
“When I first met him, Mr Ikwu and his wife were very distressed and faced a lot of problems, including isolation, financial difficulties and a lack of self-confidence,” SSI Ability Linker Nasrin Azizi said.
Meeting Nasrin proved to be a turning point in Mr Ikwu’s life, as she has referred him to many services and as a result, he now holds a position working with the Beecroft Rotary Club sharing his life experiences and making formal presentations.
Mr Ikwu has since been a guest speaker (live on air), with Linker Nasrin on HHH Hornsby local radio and was also a guest speaker during Refugee Week around the Hornsby, Ku Ring Gai and Hill Shire councils.
“Mr Ikwu and his wife now enjoy life; they feel very happy and confident. They have obtained their permanent residencies and are looking forward to becoming Australian and receiving their Australian citizenships.” Linker Nasrin said.
Despite the initial setbacks due to visa constraints and from organisations refusing to provide support to Mr Ikwu, Linker Nasrin’s strong determination was successful in finding an organisation providing care and both, social and financial support for Mr Ikwu and his family.
As a result of actions taken by Ability Links Linker, Nasrin Azizi, Mr Ikwu is now able to receive free domestic assistance and support. Social support activities include leisure outings with family, such as shopping and community gatherings. Much of this generosity is provided by the Baptist Church of Gordon community.
Mr Ikwu and his wife have entered a phase of relief and positivity and have expressed their sincere and eternal gratitude to their Ability Linker, Nasrin, who has provided them with not only a professional service, but service with the utmost care.
“Mr Ikwu is very pleased and grateful, for the support that he has received from Ability Links and the wider community,” Linker Nasrin said.