Fadia is a mother of two, a wife, a Trustee on the Forth Valley Welcome board and more recently, a Support Worker in the Refugee Resettlement team in Stirling Council. Impressively, she has achieved this after only coming to Stirling three years ago.
Prior to joining the Refugee Resettlement team, Fadia worked as a catering assistant in a primary school. This was a major change to what she had done in Syria, where she had worked in a research centre after studying agricultural engineering.
Since coming to Scotland, Fadia and her family has been supported by a number of organisations whilst they found their feet. One of these organisations was the Stirling School of English, a voluntary organisation that provides English lessons to people who may be learning English as an additional language.
“I went to the Stirling School of English for the last two years, while I was searching for a job,” Fadia told us, “Luckily I’m working now and also offered my help in volunteering with FVW to help with dealing with the Syrian refugees who don’t speak English.”
Fadia’s help has been invaluable in breaking down language barriers and ensuring that New Scots are being heard and getting the help that they really need.
“I’m very glad to work as a Trustee now, I hope I can make a difference and ease communication between the charity members and the refugees,” Fadia said.
At Forth Valley Welcome we recognise the importance of having New Scots be an integral part of the decision process. Whilst we regularly ask for and receive feedback from service users, having New Scots represented in every step of the decision process is invaluable. Fadia is an incredible asset to the board and hopefully just the first of many more New Scots on the board.
