A Melton-based community leader is calling attention to what she describes as a silent but urgent crisis affecting migrant and refugee-background families across Melbourne’s west, as she prepares to host a major Human Rights Week event aimed at tackling educational inequality.
The Wellness Table founder Saran A. Konteh has launched Dining for Education & Equality, an initiative designed to address the structural barriers facing young people from African-heritage, refugee-background and culturally diverse communities.
The event will be held on Friday 12 December and will bring together scholars, educators, wellbeing counsellors and youth advocates in an aim to support families navigating Victoria’s education system.
For Ms Konteh, the issue is deeply personal.
Growing up in Melbourne’s west as a young African girl, she said she experienced how difficult it was for families with limited system literacy, English language challenges and cultural barriers to advocate for their children.
“My parents wanted the best for us, but they didn’t know how to interpret school reports, attend parent-teacher meetings with confidence, or understand pathways to higher education,” she said.
“These challenges are still being felt today by many families living in Melton.”
According to Ms Konteh, research shows up to 89 per cent of African refugee-background youth do not enter higher education during their early years in Australia, and only 17 per cent of those who do enrol complete their degree.
These outcomes, she said, reflect systematic disadvantage rather than a lack of ambition or ability.
“The results are confronting … behind every statistic is a child brimming with potential and a family trying their best in a system they were never taught to navigate,” she said.
Melton is as one of the fastest-growing and most culturally diverse regions in Victoria and is home to many families who have reportedly fled conflict, survived displacement or arrived with years of interrupted schooling.
Ms Konteh established her self-funded, community-led grassroots initiative, The Wellness Table, in an effort to address systematic issues.
Her organisation aims to provide culturally safe support and practical tools to help families in better understanding school processes, communicate with educators and access pathways into higher education, training and employment.
In October, the group held its first fundraising event in a Breast Cancer Awareness Dinner, which managed to raise over $2000 for NAS Recovery Centre and AfriAus ILEAC.
Moved by the community response, Ms Konteh hopes the upcoming education-focused event will create lasting change for young people facing the same challenges she once did.
“Melton is rich in culture, resilience, talent and community pride,” she said.
“We have everything needed for our young people to thrive – what’s missing are accessible pathways and culturally relevant support.”
Proceeds from Dining for Education & Equality will fund tutoring, mentoring, scholarships and parental education workshops designed specifically for disadvantaged young people from African, refugee and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds.
Ms Konteh said she hopes the event will spark conversations, strengthen parent-school partnerships and highlight the lived experiences of families often overlooked in broader education policy debates.
“We are building the future our children deserve – one dinner, one conversation and one community at a time,” she said.
Details: https://events.humanitix.com/the-wellness-table-dining-for-education-and-equality
