Like many Mandaeans, Social Counsellor Shalaa Shakir is someone who has a very closed and loving relationship with her father. When her father first moved to Australia, she noticed he was often feeling depressed and down, experiencing isolation and disconnected from the larger Mandaean community. Although his physical environment had improved, his mental wellbeing was suffering due to the disconnection from his community.

Shalaa began to wonder about whether there were other elderly Mandaean in the same situation as her dad. She decided to take an initial step to bring together elderly Mandaeans and to form a group that could support each other and decrease their social isolation. The Hymiana Mandaean Social Group started as a support group for the elderly but it has now morphed into a group that is willing to deliver a greater number of services and support to the Mandaean community at large.

In the long term, the Hymiana Mandaean Social Group would like to achieve the following:

Arabic version coming soon.

Speak to our team about the benefits of becoming an associate member at Western Sydney MRC or find out more using the link below.