Zahra Heidari, Victoria

Zahra moved to Australia from Afghanistan with her 15 month old son in 2021 to be reunited with her husband. Determined to be able to be part of her new community, Zahra found out how to enrol in adult English classes at Djerriwarrh Community and Education Services.

Unfortunately, pregnancy issues with her second child delayed her being able to complete the classes until last year. When she re-joined, she requested a one-to-one tutor so that she could catch up on the lost time.

Consistently improving, Zahra began to show her independence by learning how to open bank accounts, completing her own shopping and then being able to obtain her car licence. Zahra is now completing the combined level 2/3 class at Djerriwarrh and is helping her children develop their reading skills.

Zahra’s dream is to one day be able to attend university and study in the areas of accounting or economics. She has been able to achieve sufficient literacy and numeracy skills to enter a Federation University TAFE Certificate IV in Accounting and Bookkeeping and hopes that this will be another step to achieving her dream.