An initiative of the NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS) together with the Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA), the Humanitarian Awards recognise those people who have made an exceptionally positive contribution towards refugee and asylum seeker issues in NSW.
Aynalem Tessema arrived in Australia as a refugee in 1993 and began working as a volunteer to provide settlement support to refugees and migrants.
Her dedication and passion has led her to become the Settlement & Community Inclusion Manager at Accessible Diversity Services Initiative LTD (ADSi) in Auburn, where she has gained extensive experience supporting multicultural communities and diverse clients.
“My work is focused on promoting cultural awareness, understanding diverse world views and respecting values and traditions,” she said.
Also winning an International Women’s Day award through Cumberland Council earlier this year, Aynalem said her heartfelt goal was to see all communities having one vision.
“We are better off together, learning from each other, keeping an open mind and encouraging acceptance and diversity,” she said.
“I am very grateful for this award and very happy to support the refugee community after I received such great support myself when arriving here from Ethiopia.”
Other local residents to receive a Humanitarian Award, were House of Welcome Granville’s Miriam Pellicano and St Andrews Ukrainian School Lidcombe’s Odarka Brecko.
