Meet Mohammed

Mohammed Isah always wanted to be an engineer, but a story of courage over adversity changed his career plans and the course of his life.

While completing VCE, Mohammed made a decision to volunteer with the nearby Youth Connexion program, which organized activities for disadvantaged young people in the city of Whitehorse.

One day, he met a young man who had just arrived in Australia. The man told Mohammed about his battle for life in a refugee camp in Egypt after his parents were killed. It was a story Mohammed knows well. Mohammed came five years ago with his family to Australia from Nigeria. Like most new arrivals, adapting to life in a new country was tough. The Isah Family settled in North Balwyn. One of the new challenges was a language barrier.

     "Before I arrived in Australia, I lost my father, and after suffering hardship in my life, it meant a lot for me to be able to give something back to people who have gone through similar experience as I have".

A dedicated volunteer, Mohammed also established a homework support program with Whitehorse’s young people and recreational centre and helped children with physical disabilities.

Since moving to Wyndham, he has continued to improve the lives of individuals and groups through the new hope foundation in Werribee. He is involved in helping the Wyndham Street Surfer Bus, which provides activities for young people on weekends.

     “Many people don’t understand how difficult it can be for newly arrivals to integrate into a new neighbourhood”. 

Mohammed has demonstrated a commitment to improving outcomes for residents in Wyndham. Actively communicated with residents on issues that are important to the community such as extra local schools, road safety etc.

Mohammed successfully delivered workshops to increase awareness of issues such as employment, homelessness and human rights.    

 
Mohammed is completing a social welfare degree at Victoria University and recently completed a research project at Wyndham Legal Service aimed at providing greater legal education to youth and the general community.

Earlier last year, Mohammed represented at the National Youth Affairs Conference, where he shared his knowledge on the difficulties facing newly arrived refugees and how this can be addressed by the community.

Mohammed is now running for Council and is looking forward to being a voice for the community.