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.

Meet Damon Amb, artist and asylum seeker “I started more than 20 years ago on my dad’s old camera, a manual Konica. I’d save up all my money to buy film and take photos of my surroundings, my people, my life in Iran. At the end of my military service, I did an Advanced Diploma in Photography at Iran’s Jahad Institute. I ended up working as a photographer in an advertising agency.

SSI case manager and humanitarian award winner, Shabeera Zia, had shown how each of us could make an impact on the lives of refugees, CEO Violet Roumeliotis said today. Ms Zia was presented with the STARTTS Youth Humanitarian award at the Refugee Week launch in Wollongong on June 12.

SSI case manager and humanitarian award winner, Shabeera Zia, had shown how each of us could make an impact on the lives of refugees, CEO Violet Roumeliotis said today. Ms Zia was presented with the STARTTS Youth Humanitarian award at the Refugee Week launch in Wollongong on June 12.

In the lead up to Refugee Week 2015, on Friday June 13, Settlement Services International (SSI) launched its Welcome to Sydney kit, an information resource for its refugee and asylum seeker clients. Thomas Albrecht, UNHCR Regional Representative, launched the kit before an audience of representatives from service providers for new arrivals, government departments, humanitarian settlement providers, SSI refugee clients and Migrant Resource Centre members.

Settlement Services International (SSI), a leading not-for-profit humanitarian settlement organisation, has welcomed as significant and positive the announcement by the NSW State Government to sign up to the Federal Safe Haven Enterprise Scheme.

I want to talk about an African woman, a single mother, who has five children and had never set foot outside of her small village until she was forced to flee as a refugee. The humanitarian crisis that gripped her home included all the horrors that are too common to refugees around the world.

During Refugee Week, on Friday June 19, photographs documenting the experiences of refugees will be featured at Courage, an exhibition at Sydney Dance Lounge, Walsh Bay. The public is invited to attend this exhibition, and enjoy some drinks and canapes, to raise funds for SSI Ignite Small Business Start-ups, an enterprise facilitation program for refugees.

All parents know that raising children can be a challenging experience. So you can imagine that raising a family can be quite overwhelming for a newly arrived refugee or migrant family adjusting to life in a new countryfar from family, friends and networks, with a new language and school system.

Rami El-Edan came to Australia as a refugee and now, two years on, he’s studying community service and helping other new arrivals as a student placement Social Support Volunteer at SSI. Rami was born in Iraq and fled to Jordan with his family because they were being persecuted for their Mandaean religion. After two years there, at age 23, his family was granted protection by Australia.

Theresa Saade, from Lebanon, is studying for a double diploma in counselling and community service in Sydney and has been completing her student placement as a Social Support Volunteer at SSI . Ms Saade, who lives with extended family in Sydney, said she felt her volunteer role supporting newly arrived refugees with their settlement was valuable for SSI clients as well as her self. 

To celebrate World Refugee Day on Saturday, June 20, SSI will host the inaugural New Beginnings: Refugee Arts and Culture Festival to showcase the talents of refugees and asylum seekers in the community. The festival will be held at Addison Road Community Centre, Marrickville, as a one-day celebration of the cultural expressions and heritage of people from diverse communities through performances, arts and craft displays, workshops and food tasting.

As mass atrocities displace millions of civilians around the world - many of them arriving as refugees in Australia - bringing justice to victims is of paramount importance. At this event, hear keynote presentations by Stephen J Rapp, US Ambassador-at-large for War Crimes Issues, and Phil Glendenning, President of the Refugee Council of Australia and Director of the Edmund Rice Centre. 

SSI’s Youth Projects Coordinator Dor Akech Achiek presented at the NSW Ombudsman Youth Week event to raise awareness to highlight the need for support for young refugees in Australia.  The aim of the event was to raise awareness about refugee youth and issues of rights abuse for this group of young people. It was also an opportunity to focus on the role of the NSW Ombudsman’s Youth Liaison Officer. 

Saeid, 25, is a champion in wrestling and judo and since being granted a work visa while he seeks asylum in Australia he hopes to find employment that will allow him to train other athletes in his chosen sports.  Saeid was a judo champion in his birth country Iran, but switched to wrestling when he arrived in Australia. Saeid has trained for five hours most days since.

SSI was honoured last November to be invited to join the committee of the International Metropolis Conference (IMC) after we participated in the event for the first time in Milan. Metropolis has a global network of 68 partner organisations in 23 countries. The network is composed of universities, think tanks, governments, service provider agencies and international organisations that work to enhance Metropolis’ collaborative approach on bridging research, policy and practice on migration and diversity. 

SSI and Fairfield MRC arranged for newly arrived young refugee clients to get to know their new city by going on a treasure hunt-style adventure based on the ‘Amazing Race’ TV show in the April school holidays. This was the second time around for this TV-inspired type of orientation excursion, which was based on a pilot excursion late last year.

The Newington Gunners Soccer Club’s defending champions have kicked off the 2015 season in the same fashion they finished 2014 — with a win. The Gunners’ men’s team of mostly asylum seekers and refugees that won the Granville and Districts Football Soccer Association AAM6 division title in 2014, has stepped up a division this season but continued winning nonetheless.