Big day: Khaled and Amira with Sham, Mohanad, Salam and Mohamad on their first day at
Wonthaggi North Primary School.
Wonthaggi North Primary School.
By Maddy Harford
WHAT does it take to begin again from scratch after war comes to your home town – to start a new life in a new country, with a new language, far from family and friends?
Syrian couple Khaled and Amira had been in a Lebanese refugee camp since 2014. While there they have had four children.
On January 8 2026, they arrived at Tullamarine airport to be welcomed by members of the Bass Coast Refugee Sponsorship Group, who drove them to their new home in Wonthaggi.
WHAT does it take to begin again from scratch after war comes to your home town – to start a new life in a new country, with a new language, far from family and friends?
Syrian couple Khaled and Amira had been in a Lebanese refugee camp since 2014. While there they have had four children.
On January 8 2026, they arrived at Tullamarine airport to be welcomed by members of the Bass Coast Refugee Sponsorship Group, who drove them to their new home in Wonthaggi.
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Since then, they and their children, Sham, Mohanad, Salam and Mohamad, have settled into school, pre-school and adult English language classes. The children have had vaccination checks, are learning to ride bikes and will soon be having swimming lessons, thanks to the generosity of the Bass Coast Aquatic and Leisure Centre.
This is the fourth family our group has sponsored since 2022 under the Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot (CRISP), a scheme that enables groups like ours to sponsor and welcome refugee families into their local communities. Like the four families, we have learnt a lot along the way. Amira and Khaled have been to Dandenong Market to sample the bounty of middle eastern food on offer there. Closer to home, Amira has been introduced to the delights of op shops by the other families. She has also joined the Multicultural Women’s Group at Mitchell House. The CRISP dads have welcomed Khaled and shown him the ropes around school processes, how to get to Dandenong on the bus and so on. |
Know your stuff? Show it for the cause. Trivia Plus, with facts and figures, music, food, games, comedy, a generous raffle and other prizes. Book at Trybooking. Inquiries and donations: [email protected] |
Re-settlement is a long-haul process. Learning a language is not just grammar and spelling. It’s learning colloquial sayings, Australian humour (!), customs and conventions. As usual, the kids are already on the way with high fives and “see you later”.
The more our community interacts with Khaled and Amira – in the supermarket, in the street, drop-off at school and kinder – the faster they will learn. A simple smile and “Hello, my name is…” goes a long way.
Our sponsorship group is responsible for practical, material and social assistance to the family for the first 12 months. We couldn’t do this without the amazing response we receive from the Bass Coast community. We’ve received heartwarming support and a huge variety of donated goods and resources for the Al Hajj family, as we have for the three earlier families.
We’re hosting a trivia night on March 21 to raise funds to continue working with refugee families. So sharpen your Trivia skills and join us for great entertainment for a great cause.
The more our community interacts with Khaled and Amira – in the supermarket, in the street, drop-off at school and kinder – the faster they will learn. A simple smile and “Hello, my name is…” goes a long way.
Our sponsorship group is responsible for practical, material and social assistance to the family for the first 12 months. We couldn’t do this without the amazing response we receive from the Bass Coast community. We’ve received heartwarming support and a huge variety of donated goods and resources for the Al Hajj family, as we have for the three earlier families.
We’re hosting a trivia night on March 21 to raise funds to continue working with refugee families. So sharpen your Trivia skills and join us for great entertainment for a great cause.