Mahdi, who was born in Iran, has a passion for calligraphy, creative writing and painting. After finishing school, Mahdi began painting and decorating city walls in Iran where he enjoyed turning dull city walls into colourful and bright themes.

Hayder completed a BA in Fine Arts at the University of Baghdad, in his native Iraq, in 2008. From 2009 to 2011, he worked as an art teacher with the Ministry of Education of Iraq.

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.

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.

Nineteen-year-old SSI client Atoosa Nooralizadeh is the recipient of an education scholarship awarded by The Hills branch of Soroptimist International, a worldwide organisation to empower women and girls.

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 case managers and clients joined the general public in the Fourth Annual Multicultural Cup knockout soccer tournament last month. The seven-aside knockout tournament was held on June 28, with two teams of SSI clients who are seeking asylum playing off for the championship.

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.

Today marks the first day of the new Settlement Services Program (SSP) for newly arrived migrants, humanitarian entrants and refugees, delivered by the 22-member consortium NSW Settlement Partnership (NSP).