African refugee undertakes leadership program

SADIKI Musaka currently wears two hats in his career, one as a Multicultural Ambassador for the City of Ballarat and the other as manager of Bakery Hill’s McCafe.

Outside of his work, the 22-year old is wearing another hat for the next twelve months, as the recipient of the Denis Tricks Young Regional Community Leaders Scholarship.

The scholarship, sponsored by The Hugh Williamson Foundation, enables Mr Musaka to participate in LBWR19 – the annual leadership program conducted by Leadership Ballarat and Western Region.

Mr Musaka said he was thrilled to receive the scholarship as it will give him the opportunity to learn how to become a community leader and to bring on change.

“Basically, I want to repaint refugees in a better image than they get perceived by the wider community,” he said.

He has lived in Ballarat for eight years after arriving in Sydney as a refugee from his homeland the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Africa.

“I want to help improve the image of African refugees especially the Sudanese in Melbourne and how they have been perceived over the media,” Mr Musaka said.

He also said he believes a multicultural Australia is a good thing.

“You have knowledge from everywhere, different ideas, even different ways of doing things that makes a better world and a better society,” he said.

Under the auspices of Committee for Ballarat, LBWR19 is a year-long experiential learning program for emerging community leaders.