Mohamed Semra

And so for the sake of herself, for the sake of her kids, she decided to escape and seek a better life in a new country, a country where her kids can reach their full potential.

But my mom didn't know what to expect or what was going to happen.

But she just knew she wanted more for herself and her kids.

And so she escaped to Egypt.

And then we were at a refugee camp for a bit.

And then lucky, we were granted a humanitarian access to Australia.

And the rest was history.

But it wasn't easy for my mom when she came here, right?

Being a single mom, raising six kids alone.

language barriers to deal with and the Sudanese community wasn't as established as it is now.

So there wasn't even that community backing to really wrap their arms around new arrivals.

But she made it through and you know, who I am today, I always linked that back to my mom.

What she taught me about resilience.

I think if anything, my mom has taught me the importance of service and of leadership.

My mom hadn't had any formal position apart from being a mother.

And she taught me that leadership starts with self.

And if you are willing to stick to your values, and I know my mom is a big person of faith, and I think my faith has played a big part in my journey as well.

She's someone that's super kind, generous, compassionate.

So a lot of those values I think I bring into the way that I operate.

And she's taught me to never falter on those values.