When Year 10 students Asher and Dylan heard how refugee families are being helped to settle in our region, they immediately offered their support. The result is a heart-warming story of generosity and friendship.
It started when Liz Waters and Isabelle Borrelli from the NRFR management committee visited Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar School in Tweed Heads to speak with students about what refugee support looks like in practice.
They were joined by three women from two of our refugee families, one of whom bravely addressed the audience herself. After the talk, two male students approached Isabelle with an unexpected question: could they volunteer with NRFR?
Together, they came up with a simple but powerful idea – extend a hand of friendship to Ahmed, a 15-year-old who had arrived earlier that year.
Asher and Dylan took the lead. They began organising a series of outings to help Ahmed get to know the region and meet other teenagers in a relaxed, natural setting. So far, their adventures have included a fishing trip to Kingscliff (where, predictably, no fish were caught), a lively day at the Murwillumbah Show, and cycling along the breathtaking rail trail. More outings are already in the works.
When a refugee family arrives in our community, the work of Community Supporter Groups (CSGs) centres on the essentials: securing housing, navigating Centrelink, enrolling children in school, organising English classes, driving lessons, and medical care.
With so much focus on these major resettlement tasks, it’s easy to assume that once school-aged children are enrolled, their social needs will fall neatly into place.
But for many newly arrived young people, that’s far from reality. Cultural differences and the demands placed on families during resettlement often mean that opportunities for play and socialising outside school hours are limited.
Weekends and school holidays can be long and isolating, with few chances to explore or spend time with peers their own age unless activities are organised by a CSG. Without these informal moments of connection, understanding and integrating into Australian culture becomes a far greater challenge.
What these simple acts of kindness by Asher and Dylan reveal is the power of NRFR’s core values – compassion, decency, and community. By stepping outside their own social circles, Asher and Dylan (with the support of their families and friends) have not only helped Ahmed feel more at home, they’ve gained a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by those without the same opportunities. Asher has even started learning Arabic.
For Ahmed, these outings mean fun, friendship, and a social life that extends beyond school and family. For the rest of us, they’re a compelling reminder that meaningful change often begins with something small: one person reaching out to another.
Pictured top: Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar School students Asher and Dylan take Ahmed out fishing on the Tweed River.
