SSI’s Yamamah Agha recognised as one of Pro Bono Australia’s ‘Impact 25’ Winners

From an impressive field of 337 individuals, 25 inspiring sector leaders have been chosen for their impact, including our very own Yamamah Agha, General Manager Service Delivery Settlement.

Yamamah has over 15 years’ experience assisting new arrivals to settle in Australia, with a strong passion for delivering social justice to refugees and vulnerable groups in need. She has a particular interest in women’s rights and supporting and empowering refugee women and their families to reach their full potential.

Congratulations Yamamah!

You can read Yamamah Agha’s winning nomination for the Pro Bono Australia’s !mpact 25 Awards below:

For more than 15 years, Yamamah Agha has dedicated her personal and professional life to supporting refugees and other vulnerable groups.

In her role leading refugee settlement at Settlement Services International (SSI) for the past seven years, Yamamah has overseen the settlement of thousands of refugees – including the resettlement of 10,000 refugees in one year alone.

In one memorable case, Yamamah went above and beyond her professional duty to support a Sudanese couple who became separated from their children after fleeing from war. A relative recognised the children in a video and, working alongside the embassy and organisations in Australia and Africa, Yamamah helped to reunite the children with their family after five years separated.

In another case, Yamamah worked with a young refugee to secure guardianship of her siblings when their parents suddenly passed away. Her coordination efforts even resulted in volunteers coming together to build the children a new house.

Far exceeding the limits of her role at SSI, Yamamah has established committees to meet the unique needs of vulnerable refugee groups, such as unaccompanied women and young people.

As a strong advocate for change, Yamamah also played a key role in spearheading amendments to the Migration Treatment of Disability Bill, to ensure refugees and recent migrants with disability are supported in Australia. Following a competitive national selection process in 2012, the Department of Immigration selected Yamamah to travel to Iran to participate in a study tour of the AUSCO program.

Yamamah has lobbied for change at an international level to facilitate service delivery improvements for refugees globally. Just this year, UNHCR selected Yamamah as the Rapporteur for its annual NGO Consultations in Geneva. Yamamah compiled and delivered the 2018 report on behalf of NGOs to the UNHCR’s Executive Committee, influencing the global refugee body’s program for the coming year.

Click here to read more about the awards and winners: https://probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2019/03/impact-25-winners-revealed/