Babak was born in Iran where he completed a BA in Graphic Design. His special interests are painting, sculpture, music and graphic design.

July was a big month for SSI, with several new programs starting, but the 12 month anniversary of Ability Links NSW has stood out for me as being particularly significant and emblematic of the organisation’s future. Many great stories have come from this program in a short space of time; here are just a couple of randomly selected examples.

“Australia must and can be better than this” Following the weekend’s events when prominent Aboriginal AFL player and former Australian of the Year, Adam Goodes was booed at every turn during the Swans v West Coast Eagles AFL match.

Every Friday for the last nine weeks, morning commuters have bustled through Circular Quay on their way to work, oblivious to a group of men dressed in gardening clothes and walking shoes who excitedly await their ferry.

More than 250 people gathered this week  at SSI Community Kitchen’s Eid- al- fitr (عيد الفطر) celebration to mark the end of Ramadan. The Eid celebration attracted a larger than usual number of visitors and volunteers who all pitched in and enjoyed the warm weather and festive atmosphere.

SSI and Macarthur Diversity Services Inc. staff, volunteers and special guests that included people seeking asylum joined together for a community Iftar dinner at Campbelltown Civic Hall, last month. 

As a key provider of resettlement and community integration support to refugees and asylum seekers in Australia, SSI has an important role in ensuring that the views of this marginalised group are clearly represented to local, regional and international stakeholders.

SSI celebrates 12 months of delivering the Ability Links NSW program today, July 22, with staff and partners in Parramatta. The program, funded by the NSW Government’s Department of Family & Community Services, Ageing, Disability and Home Care, began operating on July 1 2014.

A short documentary film based on a day in the life of Bassam Jabar, a SSI Ignite entrepreneur, has won four awards in the 22nd Sydney Film School Festival, at the July 15 awards night held at the Chauvel Cinema, Paddington.

From January 1, 2016, SSI will be the designated National Community Hubs Program (NCHP) Support Agency in NSW, enabling the organisation to extend its existing humanitarian settlement work supporting migrant and refugee families.

Over the last few weeks you may have read or heard about Ramadan. Ramadan is observed by Muslims around the world and is a period of about 30 days of fasting from dawn until sunset. During the fasting period, food and drink is only served before dawn and after sunset. So you can imagine the anticipation that Iftar (evening meal) brings.

SSI has come a long way as an organisation since, April 2011 when we had just one staff member. Just how rapidly the organisation had grown and developed was very clear on July 1, when we officially began work in three new contract areas.

Settlement Services International (SSI) congratulates NSW Premier Mike Baird following his announcement today that the state government will provide travel concessions to asylum seekers from January 1, 2016.

Settlement Services International (SSI) will take part in a world-first research project involving thousands of men that aims to end the embarrassment that stops them from getting help for conditions such as depression and anxiety.

SSI's second Speakers' Series event for 2015, Achieving justice for victims of mass atrocities, on May 18, featured special guest speaker the Ambassador-at-Large in the US Office of Global Criminal Justice Department of State, Stephen J Rapp. Watch the full recording of Mr Rapp's presentation and the following Q&A session here.

About 1000 people celebrated World Refugee Day by enjoying the talents and culture on display at SSI’s New Beginnings Refugee Arts and Culture Festival, on June 20. The festival was billed as a “celebration of hope, unity and new beginnings” on the United Nations’ World Refugee Day to mark the anniversary of the adoption of the 1951 Refugee Convention.

SSI and partner organisations are in Geneva at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees consultations with NGOs. Over two weeks, NGOS from around the world will discuss best practice, lobby for support and plan to ease the global refugee crisis. Here are the top posts from the consultations.

A Refugee Week event organised by two Sydney immigration lawyers has raised about $9,000 for SSI’s Ignite Small Business Start-ups initiative. The fund-raising event organised by Adriana Mercado and Marina Brizar, of Playfair Visa and Migration Services, featured a photo exhibition of former refugees who now live in Australia, as well as speeches, drinks and canapés.

Former refugee Hikmat Shah has been given a ‘CoAct Local Heroes’ award by CoAct Ambassador, Olympic and World Champion, Matthew Cowdrey alongside Federal MP Chris Hayes and nominator SSI representatives at a ceremony today at Parliament House, Canberra.

Meet Hakim, dancer and asylum seeker Hakim, 23, left a lot behind when he had to flee Burma, including all of his family and friends. But after arriving in Australia, he picked up something new that is keeping him mentally and physically strong – dancing.