Razia's Story

Razia’s broad smile welcomes us into her neat and cosy home in New Lambton where she lives with her husband Amir and baby daughter Hiba. It’s a safe and happy life, far removed from Razia’s early life in war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo. Fleeing with her large family in 2002 when she was just 3 to escape the violence and deprivation, millions dying during the years of conflict. Razia, along with her parents and 10 brothers and sisters, ended up in neighbouring Uganda, living there for 16 years while they waited for humanitarian visas to another country. Whilst there were some “small” supports from the Uganda government, “intense” is how Razia describes those years, “working for food, working for health, working for housing … very terrible, but yeah, we managed”.

Arriving in Australia in 2018, the family, who came in different sized groupings at various stages across the year, was settled in Newcastle. “We all made it” she says with relief still visible in her eyes; Razia being part of the last group that had almost lost hope they would be able to reunite with their loved ones. Aged 19 at the time, Razia was keen on a career in healthcare but with no way of starting a degree, she undertook Open Foundation the next year. Following in her footsteps, younger twin sisters, Kismat and Ashmat, completing the longer Newstep program a few years later.

Able to attend school in Uganda, Razia shares that she learned some English, but with a “different accent to Australian” and that “you study for very long hours”, Monday to Friday 7.30am to 6pm. By comparison, her experience studying in Open Foundation “was very easy, that’s why I did so well” she declares proudly. Achieving excellent results through her commitment to her studies, it was not without challenge. Razia recalls experiencing culture shock and being quite timid amongst the other students, grateful however, that the support she received in Open Foundation had provided her with sound academic skills and good foundations for engaging with her teachers to get the most out of her nursing degree, which she started the very next year: “English not being my first language, it was pretty hard sometimes listening to the lecturers and understanding what they’re saying … but I had a bit of confidence [to say] ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t get this, how do I do this’?”

[Open Foundation] opened my eyes on how the university runs, what to expect, what am I going to be doing, ‘cause it’s more [like] what you’re going to be doing in undergrad.

She also won a place as a scholar in the University’s prestigious Ma and Morley program which she says was “life changing”. Not perturbed by having to pivot to online study whilst completing nursing across 2020 to 2022 during those difficult COVID years, instead thinking it was great being forced to become better at using computers as she hadn’t had much exposure during her school years in Uganda. Meeting her Ugandan husband whilst in undergraduate, Razia declares that she knows “more about Ugandan culture” than her country of birth; their shared knowledge of his home country a special bond from the start. Working in aged care throughout her degree and nursing at the John Hunter Hospital since graduating, it’s clear that Razia is dedicated to caring for others. With this quality, along with being a high achiever, Razia, hoping to one day become a doctor, is an asset to the country she now calls home.

Story by Jo Hanley

Photos by Visual Communication Design student, Kristen Zahra

For more information visit Hunter Living Histories