Middle School

Middle School Staff

Sub School Learning Leader

Amy Johnson

Student Learning Leaders Year 9

Jasmine Keogh, Christopher Kriaris

Student Learning Leaders Year 10

Cassandra Tucker, Leah Green

Guest Speaker - Abdi Abden

On Friday 31st Jan, the Year 9 and 10 students were visited by guest speaker Abdi Abden. Abdi spoke to the Year 9 & 10 students  about his life as a young Somalian refugee, separated from his family when the civil war broke out. He told us how he escaped Mogadishu and walked all the way to Kenya in a group of 300. When he reached the refugee camp, he was one of only three survivors. He had survived starvation, the heat of the desert, wild animals, and enemy soldiers who killed thousands like him. He returned to Mogadishu to find his home occupied by three families, but was able to recover his passport which was hidden in a drawer. That passport enabled him to be trafficked out of the airport and he ended up in Romania. From Romania, he eventually was accepted as a refugee in Australia, arriving in Melbourne as a 15 year old. He lived by himself, went to school, worked and was able to bring out his mother and nine orphans that she had adopted. Abdi became a youth worker, has earned several degrees and is now a sought after speaker around the world. His book ‘Shine’ is a great read and I recommend it to anyone interested in refugee stories.

On behalf of the school, Abdi was presented with a copy of our Refugee Book, ‘Tales of Hampton Park’, which he was thrilled to receive. Hopefully, he will read it and provide some feedback for our writers!

Thank you to the Middle School Management team for organising Abdi Aden’s visit to the college.

Geoff Shinkfield

Refugee Book Coordinator