The City of Casey is home to many outstanding young people doing great things in the community, and the nominees for the 2019 Casey Young Citizen of the Year are a shining example of that.
Each year on Australia Day, council recognises outstanding local citizens, who go above and beyond in their contribution to the community, through this awards program.
There are four categories, Casey Citizen of the Year, Casey Young Citizen of the Year, Casey Senior Citizen of the Year and Casey Community Group of the Year, with the recipients to be announced at a ceremony at Bunjil Place on Australia Day.
The 2019 Casey Young Citizen of the Year nominees:
Sarah and Maya Ghassali, Berwick, 17.
The twin sisters have created their own podcast ‘Refugees On Air’, which aims to humanise the ongoing refugee crisis in Australia and educate the community. The girls conduct interviews with refugees from different backgrounds and experiences, sharing their inspiring journeys with the community in hope of changing the representation of refugees in the media. Furthermore, by utilising the Student Youth Network (SYN) community radio station, they have inspired many youths to join SYN and create their own podcasts or projects. The girls have completed this work alongside their VCE studies and plan to continue to spread a positive message about the struggles and successes of new Australians in the years to come.
Tareq Baktani, Cranbourne North, 25.
Tareq is a volunteer with a youth group of 300 young people from the Afghan community in Casey. He organises music and dance cultural activities, as well as sporting activities (football) every month for young men, women, girls and boys from the youth group to participate in. As a dedicated volunteer, Tareq takes pride in contributing to the group and providing activities that help build a sense of belonging for young people, connecting them with their Afghan culture and heritage. He also works with the community to set up for functions such as Afghan New Year and supports the work of the Afghan Australian Philanthropic Association. He understands the value of education and plays an important role in encouraging young people to continue their studies and supports them with homework if required.
Alisha Austin, Cranbourne North, 24.
Alisha is a volunteer who despite suffering a chronic illness, always gives her time to the community with a smile on her face. She has been a member of the Cranbourne Lions Club for four years and has served on the board for two years as assistant secretary. Alisha has assisted the Cranbourne Lions Internet Branch to get up and running, helping them with their online presence and organising their first community fundraiser. Alisha organises all the youth events and has been instrumental in getting new projects for youth at the club. At a district level, Alisha has been on a district cabinet, which oversees the 63 clubs in the district, for three years. She produces and edits a monthly newsletter and helps the older members setup and navigate social media. She also volunteers every month at the Cranbourne Bluelight Disco and has been doing so since she turned 18.
Livinia Walden, Narre Warren South, 15.
Livinia is a member of the Narre Warren South Scout Group and the Australian Girls’ Choir. As a Scout, she participates in many events in the local community including ANZAC day commemorations and citizenship ceremonies. She is currently planning one aspect of her service award which will include raising awareness of youth mental health issues, a major focus for scouting in the Casey district. This year Livinia was selected as one of 56 choristers (out of 5,000 nationally) for the Australian Girls’ Choir international tour of Italy, Austria and Hong Kong – a pinnacle achievement in the AGC. In this tour, not only did they represent Australia singing to overseas schools and the public, they were also invited by Pope Francis to sing for him at the Vatican in Rome. At school, Livinia is actively involved in the environment team and school production.
Deanna Bailey, Cranbourne, 25.
Deanna Bailey is an outstanding volunteer with 2nd Chance Cat Rescue. She is a pharmacy assistant, works as a disability support worker and in her spare time, she fosters cats and kittens for 2nd Chance Cat Rescue, attends Adoption Days and helps raise much-needed funds for the rescue. 2nd Chance Cat Rescue gets lots of kittens that have been neglected and do not trust people. With her calming nature, Deanna helps the kittens warm up quickly and turn into confident adoptable cats and kittens. Her caring personality shows when animals are sick and need special attention, spending many nights up with kittens that have been unwell.
Mobaraka Hussaini, Lynbrook, 19.
Mobaraka is currently one of the ambassadors of Casey’s ‘We Are. We Can. We Will.’ Campaign, where she encourages and promotes women and girls to be active. She is also one of the South East Community Links (SECL) Youth Leaders, which sees her support the delivering of activities, projects/event management, participate in learning and training to develop leadership skills and organising local youth led activities including volunteers for an after-school program at Hampton Park Secondary College. Mobaraka supported the SECL worker to deliver the ‘Building Safe Communities For Women and Children’ project. Mobaraka was as volunteer manager for the Narre Warren Soccer Club. Her role was to encourage, support and help the girls with public transport information and registration. Whilst in the role, she successfully linked three of the players with a sports scholarship. Mobaraka also helps girls and women within her own Afghan community, by providing information and getting them involved in sports and helping them to find a sports club.
Nancy Loomba, Cranbourne East, 24.
Nancy is a project officer for Disability Employment Services, where she supports people with disability to get job ready, find a role right for them and offers post placement support. She has also participated in organising mental health, autism, drug abuse and human rights information sessions and workshops to raise awareness and help educate the local community in these areas. She has also worked with Victoria Police and Leadership Victoria where she brainstormed ideas for how to better engage disengaged youth. She is a Multicultural Community Ambassador for Cricket Victoria, AFL and Gold Coast Commonwealth Games 2018 and has supported and promoted Melbourne Cricket Champions League and Urban League in Casey with support of Cricket Victoria and Melbourne Stars. She is a participant in the Women in Leadership course organised by Leadership Victoria.
