Feeling a sense of isolation and lack of support in their community since migrating from Somalia in 1994, sisters Ramla and Lucky Girre found growing up in Australia difficult despite living in a multicultural society.
Recognising the lack of opportunities and support available for young Muslim and new refugee women, they founded the Muslim Girls Kollective South Australia (MGKSA) group to raise awareness and connect these young women to fun activities, events, workshops and network with other organisations
One of the organisations these young people are being connected to by MGKSA is The Duke of Ed. .jpg)
Having completed their Gold Awards with such incredible experiences, such as being the first women in the world to be volunteer life savers and patrol beaches in a burqini (a swimsuit covering the entire body except feet, hands and face), both sisters wanted other young women to be given the chance to create their own great experiences.
“Having completed The Duke of Ed ourselves, we wanted other young Muslim girls from similar backgrounds to experience the same things that we could.”
The girls have had a significant impact on the community, not only empowering other young people, but also breaking down stereotypes and social barriers, and developing a true sense of community.
Ramla and Lucky have continued to grow MGKSA and their own skills, studying double degrees at university and also making their thoughts on the issues experienced by young migrant women heard on a global scale, attending and presenting a paper at the 20th World Health Promotion conference in Geneva last year.
The sisters have credited The Duke of Ed to giving them to the confidence, self esteem and skills to start up MGKSA, become leaders in the community and believe in their own capabilities.
“The Duke of Ed empowered us to start MGKollective...We’re a lot stronger and determined because of the The Duke of Ed. We never thought that we could be leaders but we are...Fear used to stop us from doing things... The Duke of Ed reinforces self belief in what you can do,” they said.
