The Open Adoption and Multicultural Communities practice forum, held on Thursday November 12, brought together leading out-of-home care practitioners and NGOs to discuss challenges and considerations of open adoption with regard to migrant and refugee communities.
Sourcing the skills and experience to step into the Australian workforce can be a struggle for many people from CALD backgrounds but SSI’s Youth Collective initiative has been helping to break down barriers for young people with a series of new projects.
Michelle Naike is a seasoned globetrotter, having lived in Afghanistan, London and Australia for decades at a time. But when it came to wearing the chef’s hat at Community Kitchen, Michelle said cooking delicious Afghani fare was just too good to pass up.
Myoung Hee Kim, a Seven Hills mother of two, is living proof that determination, strength and unconditional love can overcome the challenges often associated with having a disability. As the carer of her autistic son, Daniel, for the past 27 years, Ms Kim has been the rock supporting and encouraging her son’s artistic development.
“Just be yourself” are the words that finally set Elizabeth Corrigan on the path to securing employment after 20 years out of the workforce. Miss Corrigan was participating in the CoAct/SSI jobactive Community Kitchen Work for the Dole (WFD) program in Marrickville when she received a call inviting her for a job interview.
SSI is excited to support Net Diasporas, a pilot internet music project that will enable musicians from migrant and refugee backgrounds in urban and regional areas to collaborate and perform culture specific musical repertoires online.
Thousands of people around the country celebrated cultural diversity and Australia’s commitment to humanitarian values at Walk Together on October 31. SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis said she was proud that SSI could support the annual event, which was a strong show of support from the public.
Some of you may have heard about Maria Sorki, an SSI Ignite Small Business Start-ups client, who fled persecution in Iran and came to Australia as a refugee. Maria made a documentary film about the ancient religious minority, the Zoroastrians in Iran and it was the reaction to this film which meant she had to leave.
SSI welcomed and thanked the Vietnamese Students Association (VSA) last month, whose members came along to personally donate $12,000 they raised for children supported by SSI’s Multicultural Foster Care Service (MFCS).
Imagine that the world around you becomes quiet. Imagine that as you grow older, simple day-to-day habits, such as talking on the phone, become a struggle. This is what happened to Manly resident Kim Roth, a 62-year-old art teacher, who at the age of 45 developed severe hearing loss.
SSI Case Manager Sanj Virk volunteered her time and skill at cooking traditional Indian cuisine at SSI’s Community Kitchen Diwaili celebration, recently. Sanj said Diwaili, or Deepavali, was to India what Christmas is to Australia.
People bustling along ANZAC shopping mall in Campsie on a Thursday in October enjoyed an inspiring showcase offered by SSI’s Ability Links NSW (ALNSW) program, which supports people with disability, their families and carers. Ability Links coordinators, called Linkers, hosted the event as a way to speak with the Campsie community about what ALNSW can do for them.
An evaluation report of SSI’s Ignite Small Business Start-ups initiative has found that, with the right support, Australia’s refugees have significant entrepreneurial potential and the ability to contribute to the economy.
SSI case manager Sameera Purkis made a reappearance at Community Kitchen’s Diwaili celebration, on October 21, to cook a delicious chicken Qorma (or korma) curry. Diwaili is a Hindu festival but Sameera said it was also celebrated by most people, Hindu or Muslim, in her home country of Pakistan.
Kyu Ja Jung is a resilient and inspiring grandmother of two who was awarded a ‘Local Carer Award’, which are presented in National carers Week to recognise the outstanding contribution unpaid carers make in the community. Mrs Jung was nominated by her local SSI Linker, Cecilia Jeongim Park, who put her name forward after finding out about the impressive job she had been carrying out for the past 15 years.
Language is an important element of any culture, and being able to speak the local language can make the difference between participating in a new community, or isolation. With this is mind, SSI has offered regular English classes for people seeking asylum. All participants in the English classes were people who received case management support from SSI’s Status Resolution Support Services (SRSS) program.
Community and sustainability were the focus of the inaugural Auburn Community Friendship Garden Spring Party on October 24, but face painting, rock decorating and a live petting zoo won over the dozens of children who attended. Held at the Auburn Centre for Community from 10am-2pm, the Spring Party brought together more than 200 people from the local community, including many refugees and people seeking asylum who are supported by Settlement Services International (SSI).
A report released today found that, with the right support, Australia’s refugees have significant entrepreneurial potential and the ability to contribute to the economy. The report, which looked at the outcomes of the Ignite Small Business Start-ups initiative operated by humanitarian settlement organisation Settlement Services International (SSI), was prepared by Professor Jock Collins of UTS Business School and was launched by the Executive Director of the Sydney Business Chamber, the Hon. Patricia Forsythe.
The Friendship Garden in Auburn has blossomed recently thanks to the hard work and enthusiasm of former refugees and people seeking asylum, who are supported by Settlement Services International (SSI). Participants have volunteered to nurture the garden with others in the community.
People who attended SSI’s Community Kitchen on October 7, might be surprised to learn of the mixed heritage of the delicious biryani they enjoyed. The traditional Indian dish has a Farsi name and it was cooked on the day by a volunteer Iraqi chef. But for Khalid, the cook who arrived in Australia seeking asylum one and a half years ago, this mix of cultures and food is not something new.