Family settles in rural TAS with help of refugee ‘buddy’ system

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Five months ago, the Nundu family arrived in Australia after spending more than a decade living in a refugee camp in Kenya. They're getting help to settle into their new community in southern Tasmania from a federal government program that pairs refugees with local buddies.

Transcript

00:00Five months ago, the Nundu family arrived in Australia.

00:06They'd traded 40-degree days in Kenya for the winter chill of Cygnet in southern Tasmania.

00:12It was freezing, so it was not easy to cope with this weather.

00:18We've been living in a refugee camp in Kenya, Kakuma Refugee Camp,

00:23but we are not Kenyan. Originally we are Congolese.

00:28The family home has always been in refugee camps,

00:31with Mr Nundu first displaced in 1996 when he was five.

00:36They say moving to a new country and culture can feel isolating.

00:40We're still new here, we don't know so many people, so it's a little bit challenging for us.

00:47The Nundus are part of a federal government refugee settlement program

00:51which aims to make it easier to integrate into a new community.

00:56By establishing a buddy system with locals.

00:59Recognising that people are not just a collection of needs and challenges and aspirations,

01:07but we're whole people, all people are whole people.

01:10Refugees who have taken part in the program have reported finding it easier to get to know their communities.

01:16Alison Pitt is part of a group helping families like the Nundus navigate daunting new social rules and systems.

01:24Things like consent when they go to the doctors,

01:28and I think this is the first time they've had any agency in their life,

01:32and so being asked things is actually quite unusual for them, and sometimes irritating.

01:38Tasmania is a good place, it's a good place, just a quiet place,

01:44and I love this place because everything goes smoothly.

01:50The Nundu family has even named their baby after Alison.

01:54It feels like a huge privilege to be honest, that's such a touching thing.

01:59So far we've had four babies who've been born in Australia named after the coordinators of their CRISP groups,

02:06which really tells you how close that bond can be.

02:10The federal government has extended the program for another year to 2026.

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