At the age of ten, Vinith spent 42 days at sea with his mother and sister. His mother made the difficult decision to leave Sri Lanka to offer them a safer and better life in a new country.
Now, after finishing high school in Victoria, Vinith is completing his third year of a construction management degree at Deakin University and will graduate next year. But his journey wasn’t easy.
‘I wasn’t sure if I’m going to go to university because of my visa condition ... I have to pay four grand per unit, which comes up to 16 grand per trimester, which is not money we’ve got. Luckily I got my scholarship, so now I’m studying,’ says Vinith.
Vinith accessed support from CatholicCare Victoria’s Settle Well program during high school, to help him reach his education and career goals.
It’s hard at the beginning because not a lot of kids understand you. You can’t really get across what you’re trying to say, and you get quite frustrated
The Settle Well program supports students from refugee and asylum-seeker backgrounds who are at risk of disengaging from school and community, and who attend North Geelong Secondary College or Northern Bay College.
The program began as a specialised trauma-informed counselling service and has evolved to empower young people to thrive in their new communities.
‘At the very beginning, everyone was uncertain what was going to happen, because we didn’t really know much about the country and we saw people getting sent back, so we were all just worried. We spent 42 days coming here,’ says Vinith, pointing out that they gave up everything back home to make the journey, ‘and we might get sent back.’
Once the family was released from the refugee camp, Vinith’s mother chose to move to Victoria, where Vinith attended English language school to prepare him for his new life in Australia.
Students who attend the Settle Well program are often dealing with an array of challenges that affect their education and wellbeing.
‘It’s hard at the beginning because not a lot of kids understand you. You can’t really get across what you’re trying to say, and you get quite frustrated.’
But now, with support and empowerment from the Settle Well program, Vinith is working towards his dreams.
‘I’ll get a job as a construction manager. That’s my goal. And hopefully soon I’ll get a job in the construction industry, work my way up, because I’ve got one year [of study] left to go.’
Students who attend the Settle Well program are often dealing with an array of challenges that affect their education and wellbeing. Some of these challenges include limited English language skills, due to disrupted education; difficulty concentrating in class, due to trauma backgrounds associated with their refugee journeys; and isolation and disengagement, due to language barriers and cultural differences.
The Settle Well program supports many young people like Vinith to improve personal wellbeing and community connectedness, access education support, and find pathways for their career goals.
CatholicCare Victoria would like to acknowledge the generous support of our community partners and volunteers who contribute to the program and the students.
We thank our generous philanthropic supporters of the Settle Well program, including the Noel and Carmel O’Brien Family Foundation, Anthony Costa Foundation, Australian Community Foundation, Geelong Community Foundation and Give Where You Live Foundation.
