Australian of the Year Awards Nomination

Adelin Taylor didn’t have the best start to her new life in Western Australia when she left Malaysia in 1992. A bad relationship, in which she was misled and lied to, caused her to flee from Perth to Manjimup, where she got a job in a processing plant.

Fast-forward 30 years and Adelin (pictured above third from the left) is now married with two adult children in Bunbury, and supporting other migrant women through the South West Migrant Women’s Group.

“I started the group in 2018 to empower women, whether they have experienced trauma or just moved to Australia. I converted my lounge into a private space for people to feel safe – they may be going through domestic violence and we talk through what to do next, or they might just not be having a great day and need a chat. We started with eight members and we now have 379.”

Not only has Adelin experienced the trauma of a bad relationship, she has previously found herself redundant from her job as a settlement Grants Officer, one of the roles she gained after studying a bachelor degree in social work at Edith Cowan University.

“After I was made redundant in 2017, I sank into a very deep depression. With the South West Migrant Women’s Group, I rebuilt my own self-worth by helping others. Being a social worker has given me a lot of practice – I can give them the tools and encouragement, but also the support through community participation, as it can be very scary in a new place.”

Read the full story here: Australian of the Year Awards nominee inspires fellow migrants