Five migrants and former refugees who sought help to find employment after arriving in Australia are now part of a team successfully supporting other new arrivals build new lives in Melbourne.
The five all became clients of the AMES Australia’s employment service in the northern suburbs over the past three years.
Now they are part of the AMES team that delivers employment services to the region’s large population of newly arrived refugees and migrants.
Hani Abushaban, who arrived last year as refugee from Gaza, is now an employment mentor with AMES.
“I arrived as a job seeker with one suitcase and little hope. AMES believed in me and gave me dignity, a future, and a purpose. Now I sit across from the next scared refugee, speak their language, and prepare them to begin their life again,” Mr Abushaban said.
Firas Balhawi, who arrived as a refugee from Iraq in 2021, is also an employment mentor.
“For me this isn’t just a job — it’s a new way of seeing the world. Each time a client succeeds, it feels like my own victory,” Mr Balhawi said.
“My own journey of perseverance became the tool I now use to help others. My own struggles gave me a deep empathy for the people I mentored.”
The other team members with lived experience are Luma Khoshaba, Sandy Hasado and Rabab Aldresi.
AMES Australia service delivery manager Rashi Gupta said “With staff from every corner of the world, AMES Employment is enriched by languages, cultures, and lived experience. Our five former jobseekers now use their journeys as powerful tools in guiding others.”
