PRECEDING Refugee week that runs from June 16 - 22, the Hamilton Area Rural Australians for Refugees (HARAR) will be hosting a presentation by an Afghani migrant who fled Afghanistan in 2002 after the Taliban took control.
The event will be next Tuesday evening, June 11 at 5.30pm at the Hamilton Uniting Church.
The event will be followed by another at Dunkeld the following morning at Off The Rails Gallery for brunch from 10am til 12 noon hosted by the Dunkeld Refugee and Asylum Seeker Support group.
HARAR secretary, Gill Hiscock said it was exciting to welcome Lida Hazara who has been visiting community groups to raise money to send to women and girls in Afghanistan to help with their education.
Ms Hazara moved to Australian in 2004.
“I came to great Australia in 2004,” Ms Hazara said.
“Since I came to this great country I started studying and working, based on my circumstances it was on and off, and currently I am doing my bachelor’s degree in social work.
“I am a mother, a student, a social worker at the Settlement Service International or SSI and I am the president of Women for Change.
“I always believe that mothers are the foundation of a family.
“If mother is happy then the whole family is happy, if the family is happy then the society has much less violence. A healthy society is the reflection of a healthy country.
“So based on these beliefs we started to empower mothers and girls in Afghanistan.
“In 2019 we started employment and job training for those women who are disabled like deaf, women with disabled children and women with no guardian.
“In the meantime, we facilitated educational classes for those children who are the provider of their family, and have no chances to be educated, for those girls, young girls who never had the chance to attend school, and many other activities to empower poor people to be independent.”
Ms Hiscock said the events were open to anybody who was interested in hearing about the challenges for women and girls in Afghanistan.
“Girls can receive an education up to the age of 12 only. Boys can continue their education after this,” she said.
“It’s often in remote areas that money is needed to help continue girls’ education.”
