Victorian Arabic Social Services

“One of the key things I’ve learnt is that no community in Australia will suc- ceed when living in isolation from other communities. I’ve learnt to build bridg- es between them and develop strate- gies with all communities across di- verse factors. Everyone is responsible for building peace and no one should say, ‘That’s not my role’. I believe that we should all stand firmly for social jus- tice and that everyone can do some- thing, no matter where they are. Within their family role, their community role, their parent role, they can all contribute something as long as they have the prin- ciples and the values of social justice to their hearts and minds”, she says. After all, one of the things that makes her work in the community so success- ful is that she tends to generate a lot of support for her ideas and her mis- sion. The community, along with a host of volunteers, have been instrumental to the organisation, their services, and their projects. Leila has received a lot of community support. They have man- aged to achieve great results in building peaceful communities, educational and women’s services, and a host of other activities that have benefited all of the communities involved with the organi- sation. Like Leila says, “social justice is the responsibility of everyone”. The driving force of multiculturalism Over the years, multiculturalism has been a major driving force for both Lei-