Umoja Empowerment Group is composed of individuals from the African immigrant community in Australia, united to empower one another socially, financially, and with education and skill-sharing. Our Values is community, people, sustainability and respect. Our ethos
Inspired to share our culture and empower women to feel good in the way they dress, we design clothing and bags we want to wear. UEG
Services:
Job seeking
We assist new arrivals who are experiencing difficulties finding suitable employment to connect with
local employers and businesses in Shepparton. We liaise with employers and job search agencies to
present the needs of our clients. Interpreting
We work with individuals to assist with interpreting or translations from different African languages
to English. This service has empowered many of our clients who have limited English speaking,
writing, and reading capacity. Enrolment for Children in Education System
We provide support with kindergarten and daycare enrolments for children from African refugee
backgrounds. This includes discussing options with parents and supporting them to complete &
submit applications for kindergarten and daycare (sometimes for multiple children). We also follow
up on the enrolments once submitted to provide any further support and advocacy for the families. At an adult level, we also assist individuals to access GOTAFE’s English program. Daycare enrolment is
often a necessity for studying parents with young children. NDIS Follow up
We provide advocacy for people living with a disability. This may involve follow-up with doctors so that
the person can be registered with NDIS. We also liaise with services to ensure that all people in the
African communities who are living with disability are supported to register with the NDIS if they
choose to. Empowering Women
Women from refugee backgrounds have endured many hardships and experienced significant
challenges in their lives. Some women have a low sense of self-worth due to their lack of formal
education or training and often feel that they are not accepted within the broader community. UEG
encourages such women; we try to inspire them by showing them a big positive picture of their lives. We bring all these women together to teach them new skills, providing training in art design, sewing, and hairdressing. With this program, we have already empowered some women in the community to become
independent and self-reliant. Our vision is to bring together as many women as possible. With our
current limited resources, we have been unable to do so, but we are hoping to get support so that
we can empower more women. With all of these services, UEG needs support to assist people from refugee backgrounds. There is a great deal of need within the community but many people lack the necessary skills to
navigate the Australian service system. This is due to a number of factors, including limited English
literacy; isolation; family commitments; and a lack of formal education and training. I have a team of people who are part of Umoja. They are willing to work but as we are unfunded, I
can’t pay them. As a result, the main responsibility falls on me I have been working very hard by
myself to assist the community. I am regularly called on by community members and services to
provide support, often in a voluntary capacity. My desire is to have a team to support me so that we
can better serve the community and meet their needs.
