Our Stories
Keep up to date with the latest news, previous news and any other information across Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea
Our next profile is that of a business professional and creative cake artist from Melbourne Jamat.
Originally from Karachi, Pakistan, Farhat completed her MBA (Master of Business Administration) at Preston University, Pakistan. Since then, she has been constantly upskilling herself and has completed various business and project management courses leading her to become a certified Agile Practitioner. Over the last seven years, she has been working with a local government organisation as a Business Systems Officer, a role that Farhat thinks is both challenging and rewarding.
Besides being a mother of one, Farhat is also a creative cake artist – a passion she discovered only a few years ago. She enjoys challenging herself by trying new and difficult creative cake designs and decorations. In her story, she discusses the importance of keeping a healthy balance between work, family, and her passion – “if you lose this balance, your passion is often the first thing you will have to let go…”.
Originally from Ahmedabad, India, Noorin started her journey with an Engineering degree (Electrical) and later completed MBA from The University of Queensland in 2015. Noorin is currently working as a Project Manager with the Australian Department of Defence, where she is leading multi-million-dollar Air Force projects. In the last 16 years, she has worked in various industries including aviation, manufacturing, renewable, utility, oil, gas, and mining industries.
Noorin’s exceptional work has been published and recognised through various awards including the ‘Top Talent’ award, ‘Leading Executive Trainee’ award and ‘Act Like Owner’ award.
Meet Saba Akbar an esteemed academic, multiple scholarship awardee, and professional nurse from Sydney Jamat.
Originally from Ahmadabad, Hunza (Northern Pakistan), Shahida Bano is a Senior Quality Improvement Consultant at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, Australia.
Anisha Lakhani is an inspiring leader who has had experience in a variety of careers from an IT Business Warehousing Consultant to becoming a passionate educator. Originally from Nashik, India, Anisha started her journey in the field of Engineering (specializing in IT) and then went on to complete her MBA in Finance before heading to the UK for the STEP Programme. Anisha has a deep love for traveling. She has travelled to over 25 countries for work, educational trips, conferences, workshops, and camps, such as Global Encounters.
Dr. Zohra Lassi is an Epidemiologist, who is recognised nationally and internationally for her research on improving maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health & nutrition. She has authored 170+ academic publications to advance knowledge in public health practice. Some of her work has translated into global health guidelines and policies.
“Mawla Tera Shukriya” is composed and performed by Imran Keshwani to express gratitude for the blessings we enjoy every day. The lyrics are a reminder of our hope and faith in Mawla when experiencing challenges and hardship. Imran shares this song with the global Jamat to bring them comfort and lift, as it helped him, through these challenging times of the COVId-19 Pandemic.
The Ismaili Community in Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea as well as globally wish to congratulate Karim Sumar AM, President of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslim Council for his recent appointment as a member (AM) of The Order of Australia, for his significant service to the Ismaili Muslim Community, and the Convenience Retail Industry.
Over the Australian and New Zealander summer holidays, youth from around ANZ attended summer camps COVID style – online.
ECD Teachers Appreciation
Early Childhood Development (ECD) education is an important mandate of the Aga Khan Education Board (AKEB) for Australia and New Zealand (ANZ). The classes are run for parents and children aged 0-60months each month. The focus of these ECD classes is to support, engage and educate parents of/and 0 months to 60 months old children in their development of mind, body and spirit. As we know, in the first five years of life, experiences and relationships stimulate children’s development, creating millions of connections in their brains. Considering the objective, Early Childhood Educators develop class activities aiming for children physical, social, emotional, behavioral, spiritual and language development.
The recent opening of the new Jamatkhana facility in Auckland has been a triumph after many months of tireless effort in preparing the facility followed by the additional challenges that the COVID 19 lockdown presented. The New Zealand Jamat had an emotional opening with mixed feelings of elation and joy, tinged with sadness for the rest of the community across Australia unable to congregate due to restrictions. The jamat were very cooperative as they maintained the need for social distancing and adhered to the hygiene protocols in place for their own safety and security.