Looking forward and making things work
Fatin and her husband had been having many issues in their home country, both financially as well as family related. One of their friends had successfully applied for residency in Australia and they tried the same thing but were waiting for many years in the hope that it will come through.
WIth two young kids and all the additional pressure, Fatin and her husband started getting into fights. Over a few months, this escalated into violence and Fatin had no way out. In the midst of this, their Australian residency was approved in 2021. Despite their issues, both Fatin and her husband knew they would have to move to Australia if they wanted to give their children a chance at a good future.
Fatin was hopeful things would change once they were in Australia but unfortunately they didn't. The abuse got worse but now Fatin had learnt that she could reach out to the authorities for help. Since then, the police got involved and Fatin now lives alone with her two young children, under the age of 10. She has applied for all the social benefits that she is eligible for but these will take a few months to get processed. For all other payments, she will need to wait 3 years as she only recently arrvied in Australia. Whenever she asked her husband for support, he would blame her for walking out of their marriage and would not support her financially.
Fatin learnt about NZF from one of the local mosques and decided to reach out online for help. Our team is assisting Fatin with immediate financial needs while helping her get setup in the relevant systems in Australia so she can start receiving her support payments as soon as possible. We are also concerned about how she will manage all ongoing finances while she settles into a new country, as the support she receives from the government will probably not be sufficient for her daily needs for the next 3 years. The team is currently assessing how we can help Fatin through our Healing Forward program, not only financially but also through our various service partners who can help Fatin connect with her local community and other women who have been through similar circumstances.
With the right help and your Zakat, we've been able to help Fatin be empowered to support herself and establish the crucial foundation for her children to get started with their lives here in Australia.
Healing Forward (Domestic & Family Violence) Program
The Healing Forward program is to raise awareness, assist survivors of domestic and family violence, which includes both men & women as well as children under their care that they simply do not have the means to provide for. This is not limited to financial means but can also be with regards to assistance in various aspects of living through services such as counselling, mentoring, community care, support activities for youth and children, and more.
