Poe Sher spent 20 years living in a Thai refugee camp. Now she is amazed by the freedom she has living in Bendigo.
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Ms Sher came to Australia eight years after she applied for a visa. It took five years waiting in the refugee camp before her application even began to be processed.
She came to Australia because a friend told her it was a good country. She came to Bendigo because she already knew a lot of people living here.
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Ms Sher has been in Australia for 18 months, and she is amazed by the freedom she has here.
In the camp she couldn't afford to send her two sons to school.
Now Ms Sher hopes they will be able to study in the future. She herself is learning English, while her husband works.
"My hope for my children, for my children, for my family, is for my children to get a really good education," she said.
"We are very lucky and very grateful to this country."
Ms Sher spoke through a translator to women assembled for a Refugee Week lunch, organised by Loddon Campaspe Multicultural Services. Three women, from the South Sudanese, Hazara and Karen communities, shared their stories.
LCMS chief executive Kate McInnes said Refugee Week was a chance to celebrate the achievements of people from a refugee background.
She said the lunch meant women could share and connect with other women, from lots of different cultural backgrounds.
We are very lucky and very grateful to this country.
- Poe Sher
Ms McInnes said the lunch was a chance to hear and tell the incredible stories of these women.
"Often the stories we hear in the media, or the conversations people have around their kitchen tables, are not very positive about people from refugee backgrounds," Ms McInnes said.
"But often they're contributing so much and they have such amazing stories of hope and survival ... from needing to flee from war, and really terrible circumstances, to coming to Australia and regaining their lives and building their lives."
Lilian John came to Australia two and a half years ago from South Sudan.
She lives in Bendigo with her husband and four children.
Ms John is studying English, in the hope that she will be able to study to become an child care worker.
She said she was so happy to be in Australia, because it was not like the place from which she came.
"If you want to go to school, you can still study, and make your life better," Ms John said.
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