VICTORIA
7NEWS Young Achiever Awards VIC
1. What brings you the most joy about what you do?
For the better part of my childhood and adolescent life I have been part of a migrant community that struggled to assimilate into Australian society. My journey was really no different to any other migrants living in this country.
My family operated a restaurant and a home maintenance business which took up a lot of after school and weekend hours for me personally. The businesses survived but they were never financially rewarding. One of the great benefits of operating these type of business was that I got to meet a lot of people in similar circumstances to my own. Most were from low socio-economic backgrounds, unemployed, socially isolated and sometimes in poor health.
One of the great joys of operating a successful home care business was that I could help these people in ways which I could never have dreamed of previously.
The home care business has opened a communication path to people who are isolated at home due to language and cultural barriers. People First Healthcare has given them access to a health system they did not understand and helped them connect socially with others in similar circumstances.
The home care business also opened up enormous employment opportunities for migrant communities who were stuck in a poverty cycle. Language can be a great barrier in most vocations, but for home care, it became an enormous asset. The ability to train bilingual staff to provide home support to the elderly was a tremendous boost to our business. I have been able to train and employ nearly 300 staff in the business – this is tremendously satisfying.
2. What do you wish for the future of your Home Care Services?
People First Healthcare has now reached a stage where we have the scale to venture into servicing new communities. Until now, most of our clients have been Arabic speaking but there is really no barrier to extending our learnings from providing culturally appropriate care to other communities. This includes the more traditional Italian and Greek communities but it will also include people born in East Africa, India and South East Asia. To some extent we are already providing care to these communities but the potential to expand the services we offer is enormous. One of the things I am currently looking at is a replication of the social groups that we operate in Roxborough Park. These groups open up opportunities for getting critical information out to the community about health issues and Government subsidised services. It also helps stop social isolation and the poor health outcomes that often stem from this isolation.
The other important expansion opportunity that I see is in the area of allied health. We currently run a one-stop shop for optometry, occupational therapy, podiatry, speech therapy and radiology services in Roxborough Park. These services are used by the home care business but are open to the general public. I believe that as the business expands geographically across other areas of Melbourne and interstate, there will be many more opportunities for duplicating our business model elsewhere.
3. After going through a rough own experience, what inspired you to turn it into positive change?
A lot of my inspiration comes from my parents, especially my mother who always pressed me to do better and to give back to my community. Being the eldest child with eight siblings, it was my responsibility to lead the next generation to a better life in their chosen country. It was also my desire to help others who were stuck in similar circumstances to my own.
In some part I was lucky that something as simple as a family restaurant could highlight the opportunity and the business experience needed to start a training service and ultimately a home care service.
I think the home care business in particular had the biggest impact on my life. When I first started, I had first-hand experience of the issues people were facing every day. I partially understood that from my own experience, but nothing prepared me for the hardships that some elderly people were facing just getting through life. Once you become involved in helping them, the whole journey snowballs and you just cannot help wanting to do more for them.
Many of the changes introduce into the business were from my early learnings about how we could do better to protect and respect our elders.
4. What is the highlighted moment of improving the lives of people for you?
The single most important event that sticks in my mind is the establishment of the “Beloved Group”. The group initially started as a small gathering of the Arab speaking community in Roxborough Park. We built a drop-in centre for people to gather in the local shopping centre and the idea was that they could have a coffee, play cards or simply talk to their neighbours. It started as a business idea to spread information about our newly formed home care service, but it quickly morphed into something much bigger. People were coming to the group because they were stuck at home very isolated from their community. With the isolation came poor health and a number of other issues which generally saw them on a downward spiral in life.
The Beloved group started small and quickly became a hundred people meeting each fortnight. In the end we had to restrict numbers and change venues as the drop-in centre that we created was too small. While social outings were a big part of its formative years, especially religious celebrations, people started to rely on the group as an important source of gathering information, not just for their health, but also about other critical issues such as their tax return and how to vote. In Australia we probably take these things for granted, but as a migrant, unless you speak English and have a reasonable education, it’s very hard to understand your rights and access vital services, especially when they are very different to the country you have left.
I know that the Beloved Group is continuing to go from strength to strength through word of mouth in the community. It now has thousands of members connected through social media. I take great pride in the way it has not only reconnected people, but it has empowered them to live a better life and to access the services they need.
Testimony of the 2024 Overall 7NEWS Young Achiever of the year for Victoria, Mohammed Alebrahimi
“As a 24-year-old university student, the 7NEWS Young Achievers Awards was one of the biggest events I had attended and I felt immensely privileged to have been part of the program and such a beautiful night. In particular, I left the night in admiration of all the amazing efforts and initiatives fellow young people are engaged in around the community. To be recognised for my own efforts was a truly humbling experience, for which I am very grateful.
Over the last 6 years, I have been working with primary and secondary schools through a not-for profit organisation which I co-founded called ASHA Lectures. Alongside my university course, it has provided an opportunity for me and my fellow volunteers to engage with the community, particularly with students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The recognition I was fortunate to receive at the Awards Gala Presentation Dinner has further inspired and renewed my commitment to take my volunteer work a step further!
Thank you once again this wonderful program and for considering me to be worthy of the Philanthropic Award.”
Krisha Changrani
2021 Budget Car and Truck Rentals Philanthropic Award Winner
"It was an honour to be nominated and then to be named the winner of The Bridge Create Change Award. Since receiving this award, I've felt a renewed energy and passion to continue to fight for the rights of prospective medical students with disabilities and continue my fight and advocacy in this area. I've also expanded to other advocacy areas such as accessible packaging which I'm really passionate about transforming and changing. I really appreciate all the love and support and I'll remember this very special day forever."
Jerusha Mather
2021 The Bridge Create Change Award Winner
“The Victorian Young Achiever Awards are a celebration of the tremendous potential that all young people have to positively shape and serve their local communities. The awards recognise and advocate for Victoria's next generation of leaders, inspiring them to realise their passions whilst boosting awareness of the most pressing issues that our current society faces.
It is a great privilege, and deeply humbling, to be named the 2020 Victorian Young Achiever of the Year. The award inspires me to channel my passions for health equity and community empowerment to improve the lives of those at greatest need. It reaffirms the importance of investing in the growth and development of young people, as doing so is to invest in our own future leaders and shapers. Thank you to Awards Australia and all the sponsors for making this possible.”
Wallace Jin
2020 Victorian Young Achiever of the Year
"The Victorian Young Achievers Awards are a wonderful platform to celebrate young Victorians. CHASE is incredibly grateful to have been nominated for, and to have won The Victorian Government Group Achievement in the Community Award. Winning the award has provided a wonderful opportunity for us to share the work we are so passionate about to improve health outcomes in young people and the communities they live in.
The Awards also provide recognition of all of the hard work our passionate young volunteers put into our organisation to help other young people. They also provide invaluable exposure for the individuals and organisations who were finalists in the awards.
We strongly encourage you to consider nominating young people or organisations whose work makes a positive impact of the lives of others for the 2021 Awards"
Amy Leong, CEO, CHASE
2020 The Victorian Government Group Achievement in the Community Award Winner
"Winning the 7NEWS Young Achiever Awards as recognition for the hard work in the online category was one of the highlights for 2019. Being recognised as a leader in the industry and being able to attend the event with other leaders was a humbling experience and one I look back on very fondly. I would advise everyone to nominate someone that is doing great work in the field and let’s promote achievement."
William Strange
2019 Budget Car and Truck Rentals Online Achievement Award Winner
"Winning the social impact and community service award meant a lot to me. It was nice to feel like the work I have been doing is recognised and celebrated by others who aren’t as invested in it as I am. It gave me even more confidence and drive to keep moving forward and helping young people prepare for the world of work. I also believe that it has given my work more credibility and I am grateful for that. Celebrating with my friends and family made it even more worth it by attending the Gala. I’m grateful for the opportunity."
Lorraine Ngwenya
2019 Saward Dawson Community Service and Social Impact Award Winner
Winning the WFI Insurance Small Business Achiever award was very exciting for team at Megaphone Marketing and friends & family.
Having the recognition of a prestigious award helps my business have more trust as a quality provider of digital marketing. It also helps us leverage this recognition to get media attention which helps grow our business. Overall it was a fantastic experience and event. Big thanks to the organisers and sponsors.
Maxwell Hertan
2018 WFI Insurance Small Business Achiever Award Winner
I was really shocked to win the Saward Dawson Community Service and Social Impact Award. I never thought I’d even get past semi finals when I applied. Because you never go into creating change especially in youth mental health with the intention to win awards. So winning this award meant that my journey with mental ill health was being recognised as a story that could create real change in the way we treat and prevent mental illness and that just made all the hard times worth it.
Nikolina Mabic
2018 Saward Dawson Community Service and Social Impact Award Winner
“Winning the award meant a lot to me first of all I wasn't expecting it. It showed me that all the work that I have been doing of my community wasn't all for nothing, it gave me strength and it encouraged me to continue giving back to my community and young people especially the newly arrivals. People from everywhere got to know the wonderful work in do and everywhere I went I was being congratulated for what I did. It meant a lot to my family, close friends and my boss. He said, "I'm very proud of you because not many people get a chance to have what you have to make it that far" that showed me that not only the people I was working with saw the effort and energy I was putting in, but also the people outside saw it too. So what mum’s saying is, whatever little or big work you are doing to empower someone’s life, there is always someone there watching you and appreciating every effort you put in to make it happen. And that’s what the Victorian Young Achiever Awards is for.”
Alphonse Mulashe
2017 Volunteer Excellence Award Winner
"Being involved in the community dedicating my life's work to helping all ages on the autism spectrum is truly one of the most rewarding experiences. The Young Victorian Achiever Awards is about recognising dedicated individuals in their particular field of expertise. I was very honoured to receive a nomination and had no idea that I would end up winning this year for the category Health & Wellness.
As someone who has overcome many difficulties associated with Autism + Asperger's. I am so proud that through keeping good health and wellness physically and mentally myself throughout life that it has not only turned into my career. It has been my ultimate true success in life.
I encourage all young Australians to reach out to an event such as the young Victorian achiever awards to showcase your hard passionate work and to be recognised for your achievements to assist you further in life.
Thank you to the young Victorian achiever awards for recognising my work and success as an individual on the Autism Spectrum."
Jeremy Samson
2016 Bart N print Health and Wellbeing Award Winner
“I was humbled to receive this award when I saw all the wonderful scientific and community contributions of the other finalists in this category. This award has been a fantastic opportunity to raise the profile of my science and my public engagement work in the Victorian community. It has already given me the opportunity to further promote the importance of vaccination with a radio guest appearance on 3RRR’s Einstein a go-go . I would strongly encourage other young Victorian Scientists to apply"
Dr Julia Marchingo
2016 The University of Melbourne Science and Technology Award Winner