BCHS Quality of care 2024 digital - Flipbook - Page 19
SETTLEMENT SERVICES
Pictured: BCHS settlement services team
member Ku Htee with Zoo Zer.
Finding freedom in Bendigo
BCHS settlement services client Zoo Zer is Karen,
a persecuted ethnic group from Myanmar. Her
family fled the dangers of their home country and
were placed in a Thai refugee camp. Zoo Zer was
born in the camp, where she lived for 26 years
before coming to Australia on a Humanitarian Visa.
fence is hope for the future. Zoo Zer said
without education or job opportunities, people
often give up.
In Bendigo, she has been able to complete the
BCHS Orientation Program, plus English classes at
Bendigo TAFE. She has learnt to drive through the
help of Women Can’s ten free lessons. And she has
studied and completed Bendigo TAFE’s Pathology
Collection course.
Here, she became a valued BCHS client. For Zoo
Zer, the arrival in Bendigo on September 8, 2022,
meant three things: freedom, food and a future.
“In the camp we are trapped behind the fence, and
there are guards at the gates,” she said. “You can’t
see outside to the world.”
On paper, these facts seem brief, however in
reality, the achievements are immense, and a credit
to Zoo Zer’s determination and commitment to
make the most of local opportunities. Her aim now:
“I want to work and sponsor my family to come
here so we can be united in this country,” she says.
“I also want to become an Australian citizen.”
Zoo Zer described having limited access to food
throughout her life there; residents of the camp
are mostly reliant on UN supplies. There is no
electricity for most people, and their simple meals
are cooked on a fire. The other rarity within the
“I want to work and sponsor my family to come
here so we can be united in this country”
19
