In Partnership with i=Change
As part of SH Jewellery’s commitment to giving back, we partner with the online giving platform i=Change to help Save the Children ensure disadvantaged migrant families and refugee children are supported to settle successfully in Australia.
Aziza* is just one of the participants in Save the Children's Support Refugee Mothers project.
This is Aziza’s story...
Aziza* is originally from Eritrea, and was born in Sudan and lived in refugee camps before arriving in Australia in 2005 through family sponsorship. She and her 4 children have been attending the Family Learning Club in Fitzroy at the Connie Benn Centre for 8 years since 2012.
Two of her children started attending the program shortly after they arrived when they were 6 and 7 years old, and then her younger children also attended later when they were 5 and 6 years old. Aziza speaks both Arabic and Tigrinya, and has been residing in public housing in the Collingwood Estate due to experiencing financial disadvantage. When Aziza and her family first arrived in Australia, they were extremely isolated as their sponsor lived in another state.
However, through a settlement service she was supported to access English classes through the Fitzroy Learning Network, who referred her to the Toy Library that Save the Children runs at Connie Benn. It was at this program that our Senior Bicultural Worker Nora Basher, then invited her to come along to what was then known as the Reading Club.
Since attending the Reading Club and now the Family Learning Club, Aziza has established peer connections with other parents, being able to share challenges and information regarding settling into Australia, and has changed her approach to supporting her children’s education. It was initially difficult for her to support her children’s learning due to her level of English language and disrupted access to education in Sudan, however, following her involvement at the Family Learning Club she has been able to now have a strengthened understanding of how school systems work, support her children with their homework and reading tasks, and is able to track their progress.
She has also strengthened her own English language skills and no longer requires an interpreter when contacting services. The children have progressed over the years, particularly in their reading skills through activities related to a book each week, one-on-one support from volunteers, taking turns reading in a group, and this has translated into reading more at home. In addition, they have become more focused on their studies and have a higher sense of responsibility and ownership over their learning.
*The corresponding details have been changed for privacy.
When you shop online or in-store with SH Jewellery and select Save the Children as your preferred charity, we donate $10 from your purchase to the Support Refugee Mothers project through our partnership with i=Change.
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