Refugees drive to thrive

Getting a driver's licence is a big step for anyone, but for the nine graduates of the Sunshine-based Drive to Thrive program it is a huge leap forward.

Run by Spectrum Migrant Resource Centre in partnership with the Brotherhood of St Laurence, the Drive to Thrive program has helped nine refugees from Burma, the Congo, Iran, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Sudan obtain their licence.

"For recently arrived refugees, not having a licence is one of the main barriers to finding work," said Ewa Zysk, Settlement and Family Services Program Manager at the Spectrum Migrant Resource Centre.

"Six of the nine people who went through the program have obtained work as a result of having their licence, which is a fantastic result."

The program has also helped people feel confident and less isolated, said Hutch Hussein from the Brotherhood of St Laurence. "Isolation is one of the most common experiences for refugees. Helping them get their licence helps them and their families to get around in a new community and can make a huge difference to their employability and just getting involved in community, sporting and family activities ‒ all things which are key to their successful settlement in Australia."

One of those people is Baraka Emmy, who was born in the Congo and came to Australia one and a half years ago as an unaccompanied minor. "When I arrived in Australia a year and a half ago, I had no family and no job, so it was very hard for me to get my licence on my own," said Baraka. "The program really helped me. I set my heart on getting a licence and it feels good!”

Having a licence has helped Baraka find work, and make his daily commute from his home in Preston to Victoria University in Footscray to study.

Drive to Thrive is coordinated by Spectrum Migrant Resource Centre in partnership with the Brotherhood of St Laurence. It has been operating from Preston since 2011, but this was the first program run in the western suburbs.

The project is funded by the RACV Community Foundation and the Department of Immigration, aided by one of the Brotherhood's generous supporters who donated a car for use in the program.

The official graduation ceremony of the Sunshine program will take place on Friday, 4 October 2013 from 4pm-5pm at Spectrum Migrant Resource Centre,161 Harvester Road, Sunshine.