Young Leen has only been in Australia a year but she’s well and truly caught the performing bug after singing a duet at the sold-out Finding Freedom concert recently at Mullumbimby.
Leen, 10, is now part of children’s choir that has recently been set up by Emily Lubitz.
Leen, just loves to sing, all the time! Seeing an opportunity alongside a planned fundraising event, members of NRFR networked with community members to tease out possibilities for Leen to participate in the Finding Freedom concert under the directorship of Janet Swain.
Leen had never sung in front of a large adult audience. But sing she did with her school friend Maggie – a beautiful haunting Norwegian song in front of a crowd of over 250 people.
Following on from that event, the buzz of performing was still there for Leen so her father, Foaad, and Janet chose an Arabic song for Leen to sing, solo this time, at another event with Janet’s choir.
It was no stopping her and Leen and Rahaf, 8, (from the first family to arrive under the CRISP program), are now part of Emily Lubitz’s children’s choir.
This is part of what resettlement looks like for refugee children. After the initial dust has settled, life pretty much goes on for them as it does for the adults.
Children go to school and enjoy family and social lives in a safe and secure environment. But it can be much more than this and CSGs can play an active part in further extending the positive experiences children have in our communities.