Victorian Arabic Social Services

weren’t even able to speak English. She was fortunate enough to have a lot of people support her allowing her to preserver. Since then, she vowed to help others and reciprocate the meas- ure of kindness that was shared with her during her first time in the coun- try. Aside from being fluent in English, Leila has also completed two universi- ty degrees and is now the CEO of Vic- torian Arabic Social Services, or VASS for short. Leila has been involved in migrant and multicultural services for more than 30 years. During that time, she has helped develop a variety of services for wom- en, families, retired citizens, and more. Moreover, she established the direct services now offered by VASS. Original- ly, the organisation was a network of people who had identified a gap of ser- vices for the Arabic community as well as a lot of racism towards the Arabic and Muslim people of Australia. Over the years, the organisation grew and is now a state-wide key service provid- er. Leila herself slowly became more in- volved in the process of management and the organisation was built further while establishing clear visions, values, and a strong engagement with the com- munity. The principles of social justice Over the years, Leila has learnt that no single community can prosper on its own.