Settlement Services International (SSI) today announced education scholarships worth $60,000 as part of the launch of the new SSI Foundation. Formerly known as the Connect Australia Foundation, the SSI Foundation introduces more categories of support and increased amounts distributed.

Farid was born in Tehran. He started painting at the age of 4, after his mother noticed a creative streak in him. He graduated with a Civil Aviation degree in Iran before arriving in Australia in 2013 with his wife and children. 

Damon began his photographic journey more than 20 years ago with his father’s old Konica camera in Iran. He started experimenting by taking images of nature, people and his surroundings.

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.

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.

Settlement Services International (SSI) has today, July 1, opened its doors as an employment services provider based in Campsie. SSI will deliver the Australian Government’s jobactive services to job seekers living within the Sydney East Metro region.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.