As the school bell rings, eight-year-old Elinor Al Daoud runs from the classroom, beaming as she hugs her friends.
It is recess time at the East Gosford primary school and the children sprint to the other side of the playground to play handball with Elinor’s older brother, George.
The siblings, who are Syrian refugees, have come a long way since starting at the NSW central coast school less than five months ago.
When they arrived, they could not speak English and had never attended school before. Despite this, the children have fully embraced their new life.
“[We were] very excited but a little bit worried because we don’t know anything about [Australia] when we come,” George, 10, said.
“Now everything is good in Australia. Now, we know lots of things.”
The Al Daoud family moved here six months ago under a new Commonwealth refugee sponsorship program, which sees local volunteer groups “adopt” a refugee family for 12 months to help them settle into their new lives and community.
The two children and their parents, Shadi Al Daoud and Ramia Al Romhain, were among the first refugees to arrive in the country in August last year under the program and were linked up with a group from the Gosford Anglican Church.
After fleeing Syria, the family spent four years in northern Iraq waiting to find out whether they would be eligible to relocate to Australia as refugees.
Before moving to Australia, the children rarely left home. Their parents say any loud noises would scare them and they were often nervous.
“It was an opposite life in the Middle East,” Ramia said.
“The kids would not leave home. They would just sit at home and only go to church.”
Their life now is dramatically different.
Most mornings in their new Gosford home start the same.
The weekday ritual usually includes a phone call to family back home, watching some soccer on the TV, and getting the children out the door for school.
“The kids are very happy and very happy with school,” Shadi said.
“[George had] a friend on the first day, after one week the whole class was his friend,” Ramia said.
“[Now,] the whole school,” Shadi added with a chuckle.
Community support
Shayne Davy is part of the local volunteer group that is helping the family adjust to their new life on the Central Coast.
“I can’t imagine in a million years what it’d be like to [arrive] in a country with four suitcases to their name and leaving some loved ones behind,” she said.
The group of eight local volunteers helps the Al Daouds with everyday tasks such as attending school and TAFE classes, booking medical appointments, going to driving and swimming lessons as well as their fortnightly grocery shop.
Shayne said it has been “a blessing” to help the family start a new life in Australia and to watch the children grow.
“When they first arrived, they were very quiet and subdued, and shy and fearful, which you can understand,” she said.
“Now, they engage and just embrace life … it’s such a contrast in six months.”
For the Al Daouds, the group has become a second “family”.
“They are like a big family because they help me and don’t get angry. They are very happy to help,” Ramia said.
“I thank the group every day and into the future. Forever and infinity,” Shadi said.
Program set to expand
According to Community Refugee Sponsorship Australia (CRISP) — the organisation delivering the pilot scheme — about 100 refugees have re-settled in Australia over the past six months.
With the support of 22 sponsor groups, the refugees have been settled in other regional towns including Goulburn, Orange, Bendigo, Cessnock and Launceston.
Another 57 groups are preparing for the arrival of more refugees in the near future.
A total of 1,500 refugees are expected to resettle in Australia over four years under the CRISP program, which is costing the federal government $9.2 million to roll out.
The government has promised to increase that to 5,000 places in addition to Australia’s current humanitarian intake.
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles is yet to commit to a time frame for the expansion but says it is clear there is a demand for this type of program within the Australian community.
“We’ve just got to find a way to quickly scale this up,” he said.
“There’s a real demand in the Australian community … for people who want to make a difference.”
The University of Queensland is carrying out a review of the program, which is expected to be handed to the minister in the coming weeks.
“That will inform some fine-tuning of the program,” Mr Giles said.
“And it will [show us] how we can really improve it and expand it as quickly as possible.”
Ms Davy wants to see the expansion come sooner rather than later.
“It’s a wonderful thing to at least help one family sort of start something new, and just give them some hope and dreams,” she said.
“It’s not hard. We’re just ordinary people and everyone brings their own skills and talents.”