Population Healthour connected

community

Saleha then decided that community was the key to overcoming these problems; by working together, Af-ghan refugees could “find solutions to our problems, learn new things and better integrate into Australian society and culture.” This was the beginning of the Hume Afghan Association.

“Everyone in the community was so excited! We had our first new year celebration 21st March 2015. We established a Persian language school for kids and adults who were unable to go to school in Afghanistan. To promote the health and wellbeing of our community, we established a Volleyball team for youth and adults.”

At this stage, Saleha participated in the ‘Train the Trainer’ programme for Prevention of Social Discrimination and Promoting Diversity organised by Dianella Health, as a part of their Population Health Programme. Designed to equip community members like her with enhanced leadership and facilitation skills, Dianella partnered with the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission to deliver training to community leaders in Hume.

“I was supported and encouraged by Dianella to conduct my first workshop as a trainer and to deliver training in preventing social discrimination to my community. As a follow up to this training, we continued our partnership with Dianella Health and initiated the project Tea with Afghan Women.”

Tea with Afghan Women is based on the Afghan cultural practice of women having tea as a reason to meet family and friends to socialise. With ongoing project guidance from Dianella Health, Saleha was able to establish a sustainable group well-received by the community.

Every week, an Afghan woman hosts an afternoon

Saleha Talash was born in Kabul, Afghanistan into a family of four brothers and three sisters. Ongoing war, conflict and drought forced her family to flee to Pakistan where she spent her teenage years in a refugee camp, completing Year 11 at a high school in Quetta.

Desperate to make a better life for his family, Seleha’s father undertook the dangerous journey by boat to seek asylum in Australia. Once residency was successfully secured, he sent for his family to join him.

Saleha arrived in Australia June 2011, but found the transition to her new life very difficult. “Migrating from your land to a different and new place will break you down. You feel like you lost everything. Due to reasons beyond your control, you are compelled to leave everything behind. Your dreams, land, house, childhood memories, friends and family and you need to start everything from the beginning.”

Determined to embrace the opportunities available to her, Saleha continued her studies and completed her Year 12 VCE before obtaining a Dual Diploma of Counselling and Community Service Work. Despite her achievements, she found it difficult to find work in her new home and saw others from her community facing the same obstacles.

“I was supported and encouraged by Dianella”

Tea with Afghan Women

Saleha Talash

Dianella Health with Saleha Talash and the Hume Afghan Association

tea for someone at Connections@Craigieburn (a community support organisation based in Melbourne suburb Craigieburn) from a different culture. This way, the women learn about cultural diversity within Australia, as well as fostering opportunity for social interaction to enhance mental wellbeing. The group is also visited by guest speakers who supplement their knowledge on various topics of importance such as financial issues, parenting, respectful relationships, multi-culturalism, preventing discrimination, preventing violence against women, health and nutrition.

The Tea with Afghan Women group has continued to flourish, providing an opportunity for women to come out of their houses, engage in activities that are useful to them, their families and their community. As noted by one group member, "We are spreading the message about the group and share our learnings with others in the community. Some of the women are restricted to their houses. They are allowed to go out only with their husbands. This an excuse for me come out of my house, meet friends and learn about many things that are useful to me and my family.”

Tea with Afghan Women

Many of the Afghan community living in Craigieburn arrived in Australia as refugees. Victoria is home to the highest number of Afghan refugees, with Hume one of the top refugee settlement areas*

Afghan women in Hume are confronted with many barriers which reduce their access to opportunities, resources and services. These barriers include low English language proficiency, limited awareness of available health and s ocial welfare services and inadequate social contact with the wider community. This isolation can adversely impact mental health and well-being.

Tea with Afghan Women was devised by the Hume Afghan Association and Dianella Health to overcome these important social and health issues affecting Afghan women. In addition to supporting successful social integration, the project improved the mental health well-being of these women who are often traumatized by armed conflict and terrorism which has gripped Afghanistan for many decades.

Tea with Afghan Women ensured Afghan women were connected to the wider community and learnt about multiculturism in Australia through regular and meaningful social contact. *Department Immigration and Citizenship 2012, Victorian Refugee Health Network 2014

Outcomes• The project provided a safe environment for Afghan women to gather, share experiences and learn from each other.

• Knowledge and skills enhanced in issues impacting mental health and wellbeing

• Women’s awareness raised on cultural diversity and deeper connections established with the wider community.

• A good practice example in empowering women and building confidence by bringing women from different cultural backgrounds together in a social setting