Welcome to the SSI Food Blog. Whether they are SSI employees, volunteers, refugees or people seeking asylum, the people featured here all share a love of food. One of the many benefits of multiculturalism is delicious food, so let’s enjoy!
During Volunteer Week, on May 12, SSI held a lunch to celebrate and express its huge gratitude to the wonderful volunteers who help the organisation support its clients every day. SSI has about 170 volunteers who have provided a great range of support.
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.
Settlement Services International has marked a major milestone in its 15-year history with today’s endorsement of a new Board of Directors which includes – for the first time – three independent members. Among other changes, SSI announced it has adopted a new governance structure, becoming a Company Limited by Guarantee.
If you are on Newstart allowance, between Monday May 25 and Friday June 5, you can choose who your employment service provider will be. If you need a change, SSI is a provider that will support you through the employment journey.
Welcome to the SSI Food Blog. Whether they are SSI employees, volunteers, refugees or people seeking asylum, the people featured here all share a love of food. One of the many benefits of multiculturalism is delicious food, so let’s enjoy! Mostafa In Iran this is a very popular dish that we would eat minimum one time a week with the family. I learnt to cook from my parents and from my friend.
A belated Mother’s Day was celebrated by about 60 mothers and 20 children from refugee backgrounds at Old Government House, Parramatta on Tuesday May 12. The women and their children are supported by SSI's Humanitarian Settlement programs. The ‘high tea’ event was a get-together for women in similar situations to socialise, while their children were entertained by face painting, games and craft activities.
Over the past month, through the Ability Links NSW (ALNSW) program, SSI Linkers assisted 159 new people to join activities and services in their communities. The new clients added to the 100 or so people who also received continued support through the program. ALNSW is a program designed to help people with disability, their families and carers, have their needs met within their local communities.
June Simpson “I was a school counsellor, I specialised in emotional disturbance, and when I retired three years ago, I wanted to work with asylum seekers. I saw an article in The Sydney Morning Herald about SSI setting up a soccer team. I thought, what a great idea, giving asylum seekers a sense of purpose and inclusion.
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.
SSI welcomed two esteemed academics at its Ashfield head office on April 30, for a roundtable discussion on countering violent extremism. Associate Professor Anne Aly, a research fellow and head of the Countering Online Violent Extremism Research (COVER) program at Curtin University, and Professor Andrew Jakubowicz, Chair in Sociology at the University of Technology Sydney, led the discussion.
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.
Welcome to the SSI Food Blog. Whether they are SSI employees, volunteers, refugees or people seeking asylum, the people featured here all share a love of food. One of the many benefits of multiculturalism is delicious food, so let’s enjoy! Laith Al Mandowi In Baghdad there are two long rivers that run from north to south and surround the city. Growing up there, we would go to those rivers to play dominoes, smoke shisha, and of course to eat and drink at the many popular riverside barbecue restaurants. One of the dishes I loved to eat was Qubba; a dish of chicken-stuffed couscous balls cooked in a fragrant stew.
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.