Hello everyone, my name is Media. I am from one of the first areas in my country of Iraq to be taken over by ISIS. It was the area near Shengal. My uncle was a soldier and he suddenly heard that ISIS had invaded our area. My uncle called my father to come and pick him up straight away. ISIS appeared on the road in front of my dad’s car and they captured him for 9 days. We thought he was dead as we didn’t hear anything about him. But on the 10th day ISIS called us using his phone and demanded 60,000 dollars. We gave them our lands and everything we had because the only thing we owned was our home. ISIS would use money like this to pay people to join them. My uncle went to try and get back my father, but after 2 weeks he called us in panic and told us to run away. He told us that ISIS was hiding on the way ready to take us. He could hardly talk for his panicking and he warned us that they were taking women and girls and they were killing the men.
We packed our things so quickly that we forgot many things. We ran and hid behind rocks and in big holes and every time we would see a light, everyone would start screaming thinking that ISIS had caught us. We had to keep moving and changing our places. We escaped and my uncle had my dad. We had times when we drove fast from ISIS and they were trying to make us turn around in our car, but we just got through them and kept going. We went to Sago and we were there for a week before we made it to a refugee camp. I remember that it was really hot and really cold in the refugee camp.
We had to move to Turkey as even Sago wasn’t safe. We were in Turkey for 2 years. We had rocks thrown at us and things got worse. But we heard about the UN granting visas to Australia. Each time we went for our meeting they told us to come back in 2 years. We were so excited to finally be granted this by the UN. But we had to be in Istanbul by Sunday. So we had to pack up and rush to Istanbul by bus.
We arrived in Sydney and then when we arrived in Coffs Harbour, I saw things that I never thought that I would see – like waterslides and bowling alleys – like on TV! I went to school and had to learn English. Some students were nice and some were bullies.
I heard about RISE Academy. My brother joined so I decided to join too because I love the idea of morning training! I love it. We train very early through the week. I am so excited to belong to RISE – I love that it’s not just training for soccer. We learn so much about respect and having a go and being part of the RISE family. It means everything to me.
My name is Zainab and I am very glad to be here. It was so hard for my family to get to Australia from Afghanistan … first my dad had to come on his own with a Visa to come by boat, so that he could make a safe way for us all. He was here for just one year and sadly, he got cancer. He was really bad and … he had gone through so much, so then they gave permission for just my mum to come on her own as well. So my mum came to be with my dad and she spent a year with him before the cancer meant that he couldn’t survive. It was so hard to be in my country without my mother. We were always scared to go to the market. And there were bombs and other family and friends were killed. That’s why my dad had to come here, to give his life to make a way for us to come. After my dad died, it took 3 years for my mum to be able to bring us out to Australia.
When we arrived in Australia, we hugged and cried with our mother for so long - just to be with her in a new country was nearly too hard to believe. It was very hard for us at first ... we didn’t have any relatives or anyone much to help us. It was very complicated to learn English and to find where we could settle... but we started to make friends and that was good. I now live with my siblings and my mother and I am safe.
When I’m at RISE I know that I am with other friends and we all learn so much and we love playing soccer together. I have only been in RISE for a short while but I love it so much. I feel important, doing it. Seeing my friends happy doing what they love, also makes me happy for them as well. I love that we are girls and are able to play soccer in Australia. My mum said yes as soon as I asked because she agreed that it would be so good for me, because back in my country I was not allowed to play sports. RISE has changed my life.
Thank you for reading my story.
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When I was a little girl, I lived in a beautiful little village called Mindat Chin State and I used to have an enormous, carefree family. Every day and night our whole family were together, so our spirits were as clean as the blue sky. Our parents loved us but there wasn’t enough money for food and education, so my father decided to move us to Malaysia. The following week he left and we didn’t realise that we wouldn’t see him for three years. Things became more difficult…
My mum immediately decided to sell firewood so that we could eat. She spent all her days from 5am looking for firewood and selling it. Finally, dad called us to tell us to come to him in Malaysia. We made it to the Bangkok border, it was raining, and we were wet and hungry and tired. We hadn’t slept for days but we kept walking.
Finally, we made it to Malaysia. I was ecstatic, but frightened and scared at the same time. We didn’t have freedom and so we applied to the UN for Visas. In Malaysia if you don’t have visas, you can be thrown in jail. It made my family always stressed and sadly, during this time, my beloved mum passed away. It was so cold and wet, windy and slippery at her funeral, and I felt just empty inside. I tried to cry but I didn’t have the energy. I was very young and we all felt that our universe had gone.
The UN allowed us to move to Australia after 3 long and difficult years. At first it was so very tough for me as I had little English and I was bullied about my accent, but my dad always encouraged me not to give up. So often all I wanted to do was to return to our unsafe place in Malaysia. Years passed and I gradually became more settled and started to make friends.
After 4 years in Coffs Harbour, my friend Anna invited me to join RISE. When I first met the coaches: Phil, Grant and Matt, they welcomed me and made me feel at ease. I was shocked about the 5am start for training, but my sister encouraged me and I was so surprised to see so many people from different cultures. I got along with everyone and they are all so friendly. I made the decision to go every day! They help us to feel comfortable and healthy and we are always meeting new people.
RISE isn’t just about soccer. They provide us with very special resources, breakfasts, transport and they teach us so many skills for life as well. If I had to only choose one thing in my life outside of my family, I would choose RISE. It feels like home to me.
Hi. I want to say thank you to RISE for this opportunity. My name is Samson and I’m 15 years old and I’m from Myanmar, in Burma. I lived in Myanmar for 6 years. Our family escaped to Malaysia in 2012 because Myanmar wasn’t a safe place to live. My family and I lived in Malaysia for 7 years. Then, in 2019, the UNHCR helped us to get to Australia finally! We arrived in Sydney and then were flown to Coffs Harbour… I started at my new school – Jetty High School. It was fun, exciting and nerve-racking all at the same time because I didn’t know anyone and I had to make new friends. But after a few weeks at school, I got to know Melad, Jay, Hadiya, Rustam, Media and more. They were friendly and awesome and from there I heard about a youth group that helped kids that have been through trauma or war.
After a few weeks, Melad told me about RISE Academy and about how they are a soccer academy. But now RISE means so much to me and I know now that RISE is not only about soccer. RISE is also about helping other people, about building each other’s skill, speed and stamina. RISE has changed me so much. It has made me a better man.
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Hello my name is Rustam. I’m 15 years old, I was once a random boy in Afghanistan. I was a nobody. As some of you know, there is a lot of conflict and war in Afghanistan, so we had to get out of there and move to a safer place. We heard about some thing that we could do in Pakistan to get to a safe country, so my family applied for a case, and surprisingly my family got selected after 2 years. We got on a plane and flew to Dubai then to Sydney and then to Coffs Harbour. This might sound easy and quick but this was one of the hardest things in my life! We arrived at Coffs Harbour on the 15 March, 2017! Just three days ago it was my 4th year in this wonderful country.
My first year in Australia was amazing and so were the other years: new school, new friends, new language. Everything went very well. I had played soccer in Afghanistan and was really into it.
In July 2020 my life changed! I found out about this program called RISE. At first I didn’t think of it as much, until my friends kept talking about how good it was, how fun it was. So I joined and the good thing about it was that it was free and they accepted all ages. I’m glad I joined. It was way better than I thought it would be. Everybody was friendly, everyone made me feel welcome, safe and respected. As I kept going to RISE, I found out that it’s not just about soccer. It is about many things. RISE can help with friendship, communication, teamwork, getting jobs, learning soccer, helping with school, wellbeing and more. RISE helped me with a lot of stuff and how to deal with tough things. RISE helped me lose around 10-15 kg (weight). RISE helped me to find a lot of friends. RISE helped me get more committed to soccer. To round off everything that has been stated so far, I think that RISE is a life-changer for everyone!
Hi, I’m Payton . I was born and raised in Dorrigo and I am 15 years old. When I started school I knew I wasn’t like all the other girls. I didn’t like pony club but instead, I loved to surf. I didn’t wear boots, I liked to wear sandals. Yes, I was different, but I grew to realise that I liked standing out from the crowd and most importantly, I liked me.
3 years ago we moved from Dorrigo down to the coast. It was a good change and it allowed me to follow my passion for surf life-saving. I’m now a volunteer surf life-saver and a youth competitor. I love representing my club and being a role model for all the little nippers. You’re never to old to do the things that you love, as my SLS coach tells me. My dad still competes and he’s been doing so since around about my age. My whole family loves it. And my family and I also love RISE.
It was only last year that I was introduced to the RISE family. At the start I was only attending as a volunteer. Now I’m there almost every morning. Last year RISE attended the Gold Coast International Cup. I was roped into playing in the girls team. I wasn’t that skilled as yet as a striker / defender, but I had a great group of girls that helped me to believe in myself. Together as a team we drew 2 games and lost 2 games – but from a team that only started playing together the month before, it was a great result. By the time we came back from the tournament, we felt as though we had stronger connections with each other. 60 players and at least 25 volunteers felt like a second family to me. They have helped me through thick and thin. We are all here for the same reason – a passion for soccer.
If it wasn’t for my Uncle Phil, I wouldn’t be a part of this community, and for that I am truly thankful. RISE has brought me happiness and a chance to seize some of life’s opportunities! So I would like to say thank you to the coaches. players and volunteers… without you, I would be lost. RISE is amazing. I know that there is no other place like it!
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Families are referred through Red Cross. The S.N.A.P. Program is sponsored by local businesses such as Gosling Electrical
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Long-life foods are distributed to families experiencing food insecurity.
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Food Packages are delivered by Frontier Projects volunteers or collected from designated collection points in Coffs Harbour.
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