Laden, originall from Iran, at the Auburn Friendship Garden.
Ladan, a former refugee from Iran, volunteers in her own community and helps her family but also finds volunteering for the wider community very enjoyable, she said.
She has been volunteering in the Friendship Garden for only six months.
Some of her family, her niece and nephew, recently arrived in Australia as refugees — the first time she had seen them in 18 years. She saw that SSI was helping themand became interested in the assistance SSI was providing.
“When I came in 1999 as a refugee there wasn’t such a service.” She said. “We suffered a lot being alone in a new country. We didn’t know the language. It was very different.
“I was very pleased with how they help them to settle now. It is much easier and comfortable for them to feel at home.”
So Ladan thought she could use her own experience and Persian language skills to be useful and help the newcomers to feel more welcome and part of the society. And it was a way she could give back something to the country, she said.
Ladan said she enjoyed gardening but dids not have a very professional approach to the hobby. She plants everything she likes
“It is very relaxing for me,” she said. “The time I want to be by myself and enjoy and relax is to be in the garden.
“I lose track of time. It is a very small garden at home but sometimes I spend two or three hours there.”
Ladan comes to Friendship Garden every Thursday and has made friends with people from many countries and from different backgrounds — people who have been refugees or are still settling in, as well as other volunteers and coordinators.
They all like coming to the garden, she said.
“Most of them straight away say ‘Good morning’ and are ready to go and do something. Sometimes you have to help them find the plant for the day but they are very keen.”
She enjoys helping. “It is very good. I do two things mostly. One is interpreting, so the coordinator can communicate with a lot of the gardeners. And I help them in the garden as well, to use my knowledge about the plants.”
Ladan also appreciates the teamwork involved. The coordinators are very consultative and always ask participants what they think, she said.
People bring plants and seeds from their old country, something that reminds them of home; for example, white mulberry, which is very popular in Iran and Afghanistan.
Ladan wants to plant a sweet lemon, which in Iran and Afghanistan is used as a medication for colds, to make the garden even more multicultural.
She has seen how rapidly the garden has developed in recent months and how some plants have flourished.
“We picked so much basil. Everyone could take some home and make pesto. Everybody enjoys what they grow here.
“You can see the result of your work in the garden as you harvest something and everyone is oh so happy. Everybody had a piece of watermelon. We had lots of carrots and beetroots.
“It’s like a baby when you plant something and see it grow and then it’s time for harvesting.
“We use everything from the garden, even herbs to make refreshing drinks.”
Ladan likes volunteering because she needs to listen and cooperate with everybody but is not obligated to anyone, only to herself.
“You show your respect for others, help the community and enjoy your own thoughts and feelings. You don’t have to but you do it because you want to and you are enjoying it.”
In Iran, Ladan was a radiation therapist. Now she is looking for a new job — something she enjoys, like volunteering, working with people.
Al Moroni loved volunteering at SSI’s Community Kitchen and at Walk Together.
“It’s probably the way I was raised, with my mum telling us we had to be good and help other people,” he said.
Al left Brazil in 2006, lived in New Zealand for a year, and then came to Australia looking for adventure. He says he couldn’t go home because he fell in love with this country.
“Australia helped me to grow up. Living on my own, I really found myself. I enjoy the democracy we have here and being able to discuss and talk about anything. I value that a lot,” he said.
Al’s first job in Sydney was putting up marquees for events. He then worked for a wholesale distributor. But he never had a passion for that work.
“Two years ago I decided to do something about it and got a diploma in community services, which I enjoyed very much,” he said. “I had to do a placement and wanted to do something with refugees and asylum seekers. A friend knew someone at SSI so I applied there and did my placement at SSI’s Ashfield office.
“I learned so much and it was wonderful. I really got to know SSI and what SSI stands for and I haven’t left since.”
Part of Al’s placement involved Community Kitchen. He liked it so much he continued doing volunteer work there when his placement finished.
“I also volunteered at Walk Together,” he said “I really came out of my shell with that experience because I was a team leader. It was a great experience.”
Al said he had missed volunteering at Community Kitchen since he started a full-time position with SSI’s Out of Home Care program.
“It was great,” he said. “It was an opportunity to be face-to-face with people from all walks of life and cooking for them. A big part of our socialising is related to food, sitting around and talking to people. We do a lot of things with food involved.”
Al said Community Kitchen provided an opportunity to talk to people when they were relaxed and having a good time.
“I had a great experience talking to refugees and people who have struggled a lot recently in their lives,” he said. “I felt very privileged to be able to do that and make a contribution — chopping and preparing food and organising games.
“I love volunteering. The best part about volunteering is that I feel I am giving something back to the community. I believe it is not all take.
“I think that when people are watching sport or having all that passion about some guys playing games — if they would volunteer and give that time to other people and use all that passion toward helping someone else that would be much more rewarding.”
Everything is going smoothly with his new job but Al still wants to volunteer.
“I used to volunteer in Brazil but it became a big thing for me here in Australia,” he said. “I don’t think I’m ever going to stop doing it.”
Want to make a difference in SSI’s efforts to support humanitarian entrants, refugees and people seeking asylum? SSI volunteers work in a range of roles that will suit a various interests, expertise and availabilities.
Find out how you can make a difference by using the link below.
Landlord Neil Jones*, made the ethical choice to not make the greatest possible profit from his granny flat in one of the most expensive cities in the world.
Instead, he made the decision to rent it out through SSI Housing, a registered property management agent, helping to increase affordable housing options for the community.
“We finished building our granny flat at the time the humanitarian crisis in Syria began,” Mr Jones said. “While we were considering what to do with it, I remember seeing all the images of Syrian refugees on TV and simultaneously hearing the negative lights refugees and asylum seekers are often portrayed in the media, which we didn’t agree at all with.”
“And suddenly this idea came to us; we could actually do something useful with our granny flat to contribute positively to the situation of at least one family of refugees arriving in Australia.”
Through the Northern Beaches Refugee Initiative (NBRI) – a community organisation that Mr Jones is a volunteer with – they were linked to SSI Housing.
As a community housing provider registered by the Registrar of Community Housing, SSI Housing can act as the managing agent on behalf of property owners.
Low, flat rate management fees mean that in most cases the savings can be passed onto to the tenant.
Alternatively, landlords can choose to offer their properties at a reduced market rate to help increase the long-term accommodation options for people who face challenges getting into the rental market, particularly refugees.
SSI manages a private property portfolio for the provision of long-term housing for refugees and other people in need within the wider community.
“As a landlord, it is very beneficial to have an organisation like SSI Housing that contractually manages the agreement with the tenant, rather than having to take that on yourself,” Tony added.
“In case anything goes wrong with the property, SSI can step in do what is needed. It is very comforting to have that type of safety net and they provide a very cost effective management service for me. ”
Although landlords can rent their properties at market rates, many of the property owners with SSI Housing choose to offer their properties at a reduced rate to make it easier for recently arrived refugees who do not have a local rental history and face challenges getting into the rental market.
The two families have adjusted very well to the new situation and the experience has been completely worth it so far, Mr Jones said.
“Our tenants’ daughters are pretty much the same age as ours, so they started playing together from very early on and this kind of accelerated the process of establishing a relationship,” he said. “We quickly became just parents who are part of the same community, who look out for each other as you do with your neighbours.
“We didn’t know what to expect, but it’s worked out very well and we are very happy with the decision we made.”
For more information about how SSI can assist landlords to manage their property, please contact SSI at housing@ssi.org.au
Zakia Housaini likes volunteering with SSI because “I am doing everything with my heart”.
Zakia discovered SSI while studying homelessness and disability during her HSC community services course. When she told her teacher how much she enjoyed the course her teacher suggested she volunteer with a number of organisations.
She expressed interest in volunteering through the SSI website and was very excited when SSI contacted her to say she had been selected.
“The very first day of my induction was a wonderful expression of SSI for me. It started from there,” Zakia said.
That was a year ago. She received many calls from volunteer coordinators and has been accepting them ever since.
Zakia started as a volunteer employment readiness assistant, supporting an SSI Employment Services initiative helping recently arrived refugees prepare for the Australian workforce.
From there she moved on to many other roles within SSI.
“I’m kind of everywhere,” she said.
Now she is an administrator working with SSI Volunteer Program Coordinator Quan-Minh Chau.
A recent task was preparing certificates for inductions.
“Quany is a sweetheart and is always happy to see me. She always checks up on me to see how I’m doing. Everyone at SSI is fascinating,” Zakia said
“That’s one reason I have developed so much confidence — working with people in SSI.”
Zakia also enjoyed working with SSI’s Community Engagement program.
“There were so many beautiful people from different backgrounds,” she said.
A highlight was her time working with Community Engagement Coordinator Marcela Hart on Walk Together Sydney, hosted by SSI and Welcome to Australia.
“That was the best experience of my life. We had to contact many organisations to invite them to the rally. That really built up my confidence,” Zakia said.
“Just talking to people about why we were there made me proud of what I was doing, standing up for people to be welcomed, to love one another, to be united.
“I met so many good people from within SSI and outside SSI. I built strong relationships that day.”
Zakia is studying primary teaching at university while studying for a Certificate IV in Community Services at TAFE.
And she works part-time as a youth advisor with Community Migrant Resource Centre in Parramatta.
But she still makes sure she has time to volunteer with SSI.
Zakia says she wants to continue her volunteering position because if she were to be paid for that work I would not be the same.
“I like volunteering because I am doing everything with my heart, not to get paid,” she said.
“I feel really ethical when I do that. I feel like I am doing the right thing. It sounds like a cliché but not everything is about money.
“When I developed an interest working with diverse people I gained a strong understanding of the real depth of people’s lives.
“As I interacted with each individual, I was fortunate enough to gain their trust so they would share their experiences with me. I felt privileged to sit and hear, and I felt I was doing something for these people that helped them out in their life.
“That made me feel that whatever I was doing I’m doing great. When I did something and saw the smile in their faces I felt I was on the right track while being in their service.
“And it’s fun.”
Zakia’s parents are proud that she is volunteering.
“I’ve been bragging about how good SSI is so my mum is interested in volunteering too,” she said.
“Every part of my participation within SSI has been amazing. I would love to eventually get a job with SSI. I would stay forever.
“It’s amazing.”
Want to make a difference in our efforts to support humanitarian entrants, refugees and people seeking asylum? Here at SSI volunteers work in a range of roles that will suit various interests, expertise and availabilities. Click the button below to find out more.
Since arriving in Australia in August last year, Ms Zahrah and her family have developed a supportive network of neighbours and friends. Her children have received places at schools that accommodate their respective abilities. Ms Zahrah will this month put her newfound free time to use studying English at NAVITAS.
Ms Zahrah has also joined a women’s group co-run by SSI and CORE Multicultural Communities that brings together more than two dozen women from refugee backgrounds each Friday for structured education sessions covering new topics each term.
For the past eight weeks, the women’s group has run the ‘Love Your Heart’ exercise and education program to teach heart-healthy habits, facilitated by NSW Refugee Health.
“I’m already physically active with what I do to look after my children each day, but I’ve really enjoyed making connections,” Ms Zahrah said. “It’s a good way to socialise and meet other women.
“Here, people ask about me and my children, and they want to support us. There is freedom for me to speak and voice my opinions.”
That support and friendship is like night and day compared with Ms Zahrah’s experience in her native country.
“To begin with, our life was a standard village life, but we began to experience persecution. Life became hard,” she said.
Fearing for the safety of herself and her children, Ms Zahrah fled to another area of Iraq, where the Mandean community helped her to apply for refugee status and ultimately escape to Jordan.
The family of five last year arrived in Australia, where SSI’s Humanitarian Settlement Services program provided a spectrum of support services to help the new arrivals settle in Australia.
HSS staff members also referred Ms Zahrah to the women’s group, which is one of the ways SSI and its member Migrant Resource Centres such as CORE introduce new arrivals to the support available to them once they exit the HSS program.
Since the women’s group was founded two years ago, a core group of women have attended each week. Many of the women in the group are supported by the NSW Settlement Partnership, a consortium of community organisations, led by SSI, that delivers settlement support for humanitarian entrants and other eligible migrants in their first five years of life in Australia. Ms Zahrah is one of the newer members of the group but has already forged many new friendships and plans to continue attending.
“We weren’t given many chances in Iraq, but we’re hoping for the best from life here in Sydney,” she said.
“My main focus is on my children, but if there is an opportunity to work in future when my English improves, I’d like to take it.”
Coming to Australia has also opened up opportunities for Ms Zahrah’s children Bassam, 15, Juman, 12, and Marma, three, who all live with different types of disability.
“There are organisations out there like SSI and the government who want to help look after my children and give them what they need,” she said.
“I hope to see them grow and continue studying here.”
With children and migrants over-represented in the summer’s drowning statistics, SSI and NSW Refugee Health Service collaborated with Australian Professional Ocean Lifeguard Association to run Oceans Without Borders — a one-day water awareness program to help close to 37 young people from refugee backgrounds learn how to safely enjoy the beach.
Beginning the day in Fairfield, the group travelled to Circular Quay where many saw Sydney Harbour for the first time on the ferry to Manly Life Saving Club. With Surf Educate Australia, the young people learned how to catch a wave, have fun and be confident in the water.
For many participants, this was also their first time experiencing the beach in Australia.
“This is my first time swimming in the ocean, and it’s a good feeling,” said 16-year-old Frans, from Iraq.
“It’s good exercise, and it’s good to learn these skills. We’ll come back, and bring our friends — I’d like to try surfing.”
SSI’s Community Engagement Manager Trina Soulos said it was a great opportunity to introduce a significant part of Australian culture to young people who had recently arrived in the community.
“There have been a number of drownings of newly arrived migrants in recent years so it is important that they become familiar with water safety,” she said.
“It’s also a marvellous occasion for inclusion, giving young people the chance to participate in activities that would be unfamiliar to them.”
She said many of the participants studied at the Fairfield High School Intensive English Centre and she anticipated they would pass on what they learned to their classmates.
Oceans Without Borders follows on from SSI’s successful Surfing Without Borders initiative, which uses surfing to help people seeking asylum to overcome social barriers and develop new community connections.
We see that reflected every day in the work we do at SSI. A number of our staff members are community leaders in their own right. Others have lived experience that compels them to give above and beyond their nine-to-five job.
Then we have the people who volunteer their time to help create safe, welcoming environments, where the individuals and families SSI supports can flourish.
The empathy and warmth of volunteers enriches so many aspects of our organisation. Volunteers provide career guidance to young workers and job seekers. They help newly arrived refugees navigate their first few days in Australia. They mentor fledgling entrepreneurs and encourage individuals and families to participate in the community through activities such as Community Kitchen, Playtime and the Friendship Garden.
Next week is National Volunteer Week, a chance to recognise people from all walks of life for the shared altruism that sees them give up their time to work for the common good.
Volunteering leads to an astounding increase in social capital not only for organisations like SSI but for our country as a whole. That social capital is what forges links between individuals and communities, enabling us to trust each other and work cooperatively. It means more goodwill and fellowship — shared values, understanding and sense of identity.
Last month I had the honour of meeting Nobel Peace Prize winner and social entrepreneur Muhammad Yunus, who co-founded a global initiative that creates and empowers social businesses to address and solve problems around the world.
Speaking at the Australasian Social Business Forum, he challenged businesses, entrepreneurs and everyday community members to find a way to use their professional vocation to benefit the community.
Mr Yunus argued that every organisation should have a social element — a way of using its profits for good. Reinvesting profits to address social injustices is the only way to disrupt a world where the eight richest people have the same combined wealth as the poorest half of our global population.
It’s inevitable in the coming years that not-for-profit organisations like SSI will also be disrupted. Disruption is pervasive; it’s something we’re seeing all over the world, socially, economically and in unexpected phenomena such as Brexit and the election of US President Donald Trump.
But we must avoid having to dodge the bullet of unprecedented change and instead find a way to shape it. For SSI, that means keeping one eye on the horizon — staying ahead of the bell-curve, while remaining true to our purpose of working with vulnerable people and communities to build their potential.
As an organisation, a lot of our funding comes from government contracts. The fact that we deliver those services efficiently and effectively without compromising quality is something of which I’m immensely proud. Robust management means we are able to run our organisation like a social business, reinvesting our surpluses in things that not only add value to those contracted services but also achieve broader social outcomes for individuals, families and communities.
We invest in things that reap rewards for the communities we work with, whether that’s through donations, sponsorships or self-funded initiatives like Ignite Small Business Start-ups or our Arts & Culture Program.
It is through such innovation and the efforts of social businesses, volunteers and civil society that we can hope to achieve a world where all people have the opportunity and the means to achieve their full potential.
As Muhammad Yunus puts it: “Making money is no fun. Contributing to and changing the world is a lot more fun.”
Taking place as part of Youth Week festivities, the group of 15 to 25-year-olds included refugees and people seeking asylum from countries such as Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, most of whom had arrived in Australia within the past six months. A big part of the day was also the young people having a chance to get to know each other and have fun in a safe, friendly environment.
The forum program was built around the three key areas of employment, education and English language, which form a core part of the support SSI offers to refugees under its Humanitarian Settlement Services (HSS) program and Settlement Support Program (SSP).
The E3 Youth Conference was spearheaded by the Youth Collective, an initiative established by SSI and its member MRCs to involve multicultural young people in improving outcomes for their peers.
Youth Collective Steering Committee member and high-school student Rooan Al Kalmashi, who co-emceed the forum, said it had inspired her to enhance her knowledge to support other young people in her network.
“As a youth advocate, my vision is to encourage active citizenship and to give a voice to youth. Events like this one equip youth with the knowledge and skills required to ensure that their settlement process is easier and to assist them in reaching their full potential,” she said.
Rooan’s co-emcee was Simon Shahin, a Syrian refugee who arrived in Australia less than two years ago.
“I really enjoyed attending this E3 Youth Conference as it gave me a chance to help youth from multicultural backgrounds who are settling in Australia and preparing them for later career opportunities,” said Simon.
The forum’s keynote address was delivered by 17-year-old Harpreet Dhillon, a young Sydney woman who was recently sponsored by SSI to become the youngest Australian delegate at the 61st session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women at UN headquarters in New York.
Harpreet spoke about her incredible experiences in New York, getting to share her story with young people from around the world.
She also told the story of her own journey to self-acceptance, becoming the first woman in her family to finish high school. Harpreet said learning to understand the importance of diversity was what led her towards dedicating her time to helping other young people from multicultural backgrounds.
SSI Youth Projects Coordinator Dor Akech Achiek said the E3 Youth Forum wasn’t just a chance for young people to improve their understanding of employment, English language and education in Australia; it was also an opportunity to have fun.
“One of my favourite parts of the day was seeing attendees come together for a range of activities of their choice, such as a friendly soccer match and a game of tag on the lawns outside the Refugee Welcome Centre,” he said.
“An important outcome from the forum has also been the chance to collect feedback from these newly arrived young refugees on the challenges they face when it comes to employment, education and English. We’ve learned a lot from them as well.”
Bollyfit dancers, SSI volunteers and Scooby Doo all contributed to the fun and hospitality at Community Kitchen’s Tamil New Year and Easter celebrations.
The event was vibrant with activities offered for adults and children organised in partnership with Community Migrant Resource Centre and the Tamil Women’s Development Group.
Activities included traditional music and dance performances, with Tamil clients and community members preparing a delicious traditional meal that was served by Community Kitchen’s always cheerful volunteers.
In the Friendship Garden, playgroup members were joined in an Easter egg hunt by dancers from the Bollyfit Dance Studio.
Ferrero generously donated 60 Kinder Surprise Easter chocolates for the egg hunt, which kept the children and Scooby Doo busy for some time.
SSI CEO, Violet Roumeliotis, Allianz’s Tim Dawson and scholarship committee members celebrate with scholarship recipients.
Forty-eight people from a refugee background, needing financial assistance for their school education or attaining local recognition for their qualifications, will now get the support they need.
SSI CEO, Violet Roumeliotis, joined Allianz’s Chief Human Resources Manager, Tim Dawson, to celebrate the success of the scholarship recipients with families, friends, teachers and SSI staff.
The SSI Allianz Refugee Scholarships were created to minimise the financial barriers experienced by refugees as they participate in the NSW education system.
More than $90,000 — including $50,000 from Allianz — was allocated to individuals across all levels of the education system: primary school, secondary school, vocational education and training, university, and skills and qualifications recognition.
Mr Dawson said Allianz was keen to support the scholarships because it wanted to help people get job ready. Now it was playing a part in the students’ development and hopefully enriching their futures.
Scholarships reached across NSW, to students from Albury and Wagga Wagga in the south to Coffs Harbour in the north.
Among recipients present at the function was Tenzin, a refugee studying at Dulwich High School of Visual Arts and Design, who came to Australia with her family from India, where she was born as a stateless child in a refugee settlement.
She says she loves learning about science and that the SSI Allianz Scholarship will help make her educational necessities more affordable and make available extracurricular activities that offer further educational opportunities.
Nadine, from Syria, attends Keira High School. After her home in Homs was destroyed she lived in Damascus and Beirut before arriving in Australia.
Her education in Australia is very important to her because her journey meant she missed four years of schooling. When she leaves school she wants to study to be a paediatrician.
She says with a good education a refugee will be better placed to make a positive contribution to society. “This is something refugees really want to do to repay Australia’s kindness to them.”
There are so many other touching and uplifting stories: Milada, whose scholarship will support her to continue studying Year 8; Balquees, who will use it to have her PhD recognised in Australia; or Rebecca, who’s studying for a Diploma of Nursing at TAFE.
Our vision for the SSI Allianz Scholarships has been that they complement the tremendous work SSI and its partner organisations are already doing for refugees and asylum seekers.
We believe we have an obligation to give something back to our communities, to add value and to intervene and support social cohesion.
We want to provide opportunities for young people to finish their schooling and to support families who have come to Australia with passions and talents and skills and a fire to make this country their home, and to give something back.
Importantly, these scholarships reflect our fundamental view that everyone has the right to meet their potential and to live the life they want to live.