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As economic and humanitarian tensions simmered in the lead-up to the 2007 Kenyan national elections, some decided the best option was to leave.
Griffith University student Shirley Juma was just 14 when she and her sister Sharon joined their mother Millicent in migrating to Australia.
Adjustment to a new life in a new land brought many challenges.
“My mother was a lecturer at home in Kenya and came to Australia as a mature student. She is my inspiration. She saw Australia as an opportunity for a better life and education for all of us,” says Shirley.
“Culturally, socially and economically, however, it was an enormous transformation and very difficult to adapt. In fact, it felt like entering another world and there were many struggles.
“There was so much to deal with as we tried to settle. Things that people were accustomed to in Australia were completely new for us.
“Even having access to computers and discovering the internet, it was quite overwhelming.”
Today Shirley still holds her Kenyan homeland close to her heart, but so too is she embracing opportunities in Australia, most notably the pursuit of dual degrees in Human Services and Criminology and Criminal Justice at Griffith University.
With the support of a Griffith Futures Scholarship through the Annual Appeal Students’ Future Fund, Shirley can focus on the demands of her studies with an aim towards working in community welfare, women’s services and mental health.
Understandably, the migrant experience remains a profound influence, as reflected by Shirley’s involvement in a community program helping migrant families in Logan, as well as her ongoing commitment to honour the sacrifices made by her mother.
“The support from Griffith University has been so important in helping to cover costs that otherwise Mum and I would find difficult to pay,” she says.
“Through the Griffith Futures Scholarship, I can see a clearer vision of where I want to be and know I have the backing to get there.”