It was a sad farewell last month for our first CRISP family (the first to Australia) who have now moved to Melbourne. Douaa, Essam, Rahaf and Drgham arrived in August 2022 and were followed by Douaa’s mother Rabiaa in February 2023.
There were many firsts here. Douaa became the first woman from the CRISP to learn to drive and gain her licence, leading to an independent life. Essam was fully employed at the Brunswick Heads Hotel for over three years as a pizza chef. Rahaf and Drgham now have Australian accents and Drgham is about to start school in 2026.
Rahaf has gone from strength to strength at Brunswick Heads Public School. For two of the three years at the school she has been under the stewardship of Abelia Hissink and specialist English teacher Robyn Venn. A special thank you goes out to these women who have nurtured Rahaf, enabling her to be a confident English speaker, writer and reader and a great friend to many. The group made a photo book of their lives here and we were pleasantly surprised just how many wonderful moments we had all shared with them.
Sadly, at the time of writing this, Rabiaa remains in hospital in Lismore and is unable to join the family in Melbourne. We wish her a speedy return to health and all the best to the family for the commencement of another chapter of their life in Australia.
The Ocean Shores for Refugees CSG and supporters included Sara, Kiki, Kate, Liz, Anika, Cara, Isabelle, Shaelie and their partners, children and friends.
Pictured top: The family with CSG members, family and friends.
