Although my parents were well educated, spoke more than 5 languages, were able to read and write in English and had held prestigious positions in their former life, they found speaking and understanding Australian English very difficult. My father found employment as a worker in a meat factory and later changed to a taxi driver. My mother made her way through TAFE and has worked in aged care and at a school in Yeronga as a teacher’s aide but when we first arrived she became very unwell. She is a diabetic and was not properly diagnosed or treated with appropriate medications in the Tanzanian camp- so when she came to Australia a lot of investigations needed to be carried out to work out the extent of the damage that the wrong medications had caused her.

If only there was a clinic like World Wellness Clinic around when we arrived! I recall feeling very anxious for my mother’s health and my family struggling to understand the health system and what was going on for my mum. She was so unwell at one stage we thought she might not make it. On another occasion soon after we arrived, my brother became very sick too. He had typhoid fever which hadn’t been picked up and a temperature of over 40 degrees. We remembered that our Case Worker instructed us to call 000 for an ambulance in an emergency, which we did, but ended up with an $800 bill which set us back so far when we were just starting out. No one could advocate for us or provide advice on stressful developments like these, no one was there to ask how things were going and we didn’t want to bother anyone, so we just suffered quietly.

The social support really makes a big difference to the settlement process and that’s why I love giving back now that I am a nurse in a great organisation that understands that newly arrived families with health needs are particularly vulnerable. We were quite well settled within a few years and consider ourselves so fortunate to live in this great country. The Burundi community of Brisbane has grown a lot since 2005 and my family has become a welcoming committee for new arrivals, our family home has become a safe place for all to come and my parents enjoy continuing their unofficial position as community leaders in Australia. After becoming qualified as a nurse I chose to continue with my studies and complete my masters in Public Health because it is my passion.

One of my favourite things to do in the wider community is to engage with all people and remove fear about refugees and assumptions that they may have about Burundi people. On previous years we have taken part in dancing at Refugee Week celebrations in our community which is a fun way to share our culture. This year on refugee week I reflect on my family’s journey and look back with pride at the resilience and strength we all exercised to find our safe forever home. I thank Australia and my local community for the amazing friendships I have made and celebrate my achievements, but I will never forget my past or where I have come from.