The Shape of Hope

The Shape of Hope is a collection of our stories - why we left home, how we got to Australia, and what it’s been like to start building a new life.

Along the way there have been bombs, broken-down boats, summer bushfires and all-night study sessions in the middle of winter. Each story is unique, but there are common threads - frustrations with visas and bureaucracies, and the excitement of being accepted into university or getting a job.

The Shape of Hope is a beautiful book, and gives very practical insights into the barriers we faced and how we overcame them.

……….

162 pages. Soft cover. Over 100 colour images.

All proceeds from The Shape of Hope are used to support Hope Co-Op’s asylum-seeking students in completing their education.

The book is also available as an online version for $15.00.

FROM THE BACK COVER

It was October 2015. My Year 12 asylum seeker students were finishing their final tasks. They said to me, “What can we do next year?” I told them I would look into it.

I discovered that the barriers to their tertiary education seemed almost insurmountable: full international fees upfront, no access to HECS, and if they chose full time study they would get no Centrelink living support.

They had crossed oceans for a chance at building a life in safety, many were on their own and all had worked hard. The idea that I would say to them, “Sorry, university is not for you,” was appalling to me. I had to do something.

The Shape of Hope tells the vividly personal stories of a group of young asylum seekers and the Australians who, through radical and creative advocacy, were able to open doors for them. These students are now studying engineering, accounting, nursing, para-medicine, pharmacy, bio-medicine, performing arts, physiotherapy and teaching. Some are working in early childhood education and nursing. Others are experienced firefighters.

There was no roadmap for this, and at times the problem-solving seemed endless. But for Sally, their Year 12 teacher, the struggle was worth it. “It warmed my heart to see that people who had been so systemically excluded were being connected into systems, places and communities. It was behind-the-scenes work, and I knew it was the most political, most humane and most useful work I had ever done.”