Her Village Foundation is a budding not-for-profit on the North Shore, helping refugee girls ages twelve to eighteen achieve positions of leadership.
In October, Her Village are holding their annual flagship event at the Pymble Ladies’ College, known as their Championship. During which, Her Village will be raising funds to go towards supporting refugee girls.
‘We’re all about getting from that survive state to the thrive state,’ says Her Village CEO, Tahmara Thomas. ‘That’s why we are called Her Village. It’s about creating a village of support around the girls that they wouldn’t normally have access to.’
In 2021 as a high school student, Tahmara Thomas began the organisation following international news of the Taliban in Afghanistan. To give back, Her Village was formed to aid in the prosperity of refugee Afghan girls on the North Shore. Her Village and the girls are connected through SSI, the national not-for-profit helping newly arrived refugees.
‘North Shore kids get access to so many resources, networks, and tailored help. We want to apply those resources to these girls who have enormous resilience and grit,’ says Tahmara. ‘We are trying to do that through sport, building their leadership, and building their friendships.’
For the Her Village Championship, twenty Afghan girls, ten African girls, and thirty girls from Pymble Ladies’ College will be coming together. On day one, they participate in leadership workshops and get to know each other. The second day is a football clinic. For the Championship on the 27th of October, the girls will play football, which is open to the public to watch.
At the Championship Day, cultural stalls including henna tattoos, an Afghan cultural corner with traditional clothing, and inspirational speakers will be present. One of those speakers will be Nooria Ahmadi, local 18-year-old Afghan refugee who arrived in Australia in 2021 without speaking English. Nooria is now fluent, lives and supports herself, and is in Year 11 at her school.
‘After I participated in Her Village I learned a lot about leadership,’ says Nooria Ahmadi. ‘I now help students who are coming into Australia at the Intensive English Centre. The teachers know that I love to help people.’
Tickets for the Her Village Championship event are available to purchase at the QR code. Proceeds go towards supporting the refugees Her Village works with.
