Donate to ARA’s Emergency Support Services to help families like Javed’s rebuild their lives.

Please make an urgent end of year tax-deductible donation to ensure Javed and Kadijah can support their son to get an education.

Javed, Kadijah and their family came to Australia seeking hope for a new future, and an escape from the trauma of war.

But settlement is difficult, and recovering from trauma takes time. Their eldest son, Danyal, struggles with severe anxiety and is refusing to go to school. Javed and Kadijah do not know how to help him.

ARA’s Emergency Support Service can provide the support this family needs right now.

When conflict broke out in their home country, life was turned upside down for Javed, Kadijah and their children. Javed had to keep working to support his family. Then a terrible accident left him paralysed.

Javed’s recovery was slow and he needed extra therapy. They fled to another, safer country as refugees. Javed accessed treatment and after two years, he was walking again.

But Javed still could not work to support the family. The only way forward was to leave. They applied to move to Australia, arriving six years ago. But unlike home, there is no support here. No friends, no ‘village’ to stand by them and help them raise their family.

Settlement has been difficult for the whole family; adjusting to a new country with new systems, rules and a whole new way of life. Now, after six years in Australia, they no longer qualify for many support services.

Funds within the Emergency Support Service can provide the immediate assistance they need, such as financial counselling and help to navigate complex government systems.

The trauma of war is never far away for this family. Danyal needed counselling at school, which made him a target for bullying – a common experience for refugee youth due to poor English, difficulty with schoolwork, and lack of confidence after years of displacement and refugee camps. Now Danyal is so stressed and afraid, he refuses to go to school at all.

Javed and Kadijah do not know how to talk to the school and ask for help. In Javed’s town, all the kids would play in the street and everyone looked out for each other. Javed says he never felt alone. But here, they have no one.

Parenting is challenging no matter who you are and what community you live in. But for refugee families, it is even more stressful and confusing, while dealing with trauma, language and cultural differences.

Through the Emergency Support Service, a case worker can be assigned to accompany Javed and Kadijah to meet school staff, enrol them in a parenting class to build parenting skills, and plan a new pathway forward for Danyal.

Javed and Kadijah are all alone. Will you please help us take care of them, and support Danyal in his distress?