Photo: Njm using his hair stylist skills on a customer.

Njm fled Syria as a refugee with his parents and six other siblings. He resettled in Australia as a humanitarian entrant in 2016. “I remember seeing cockatoos in the gum trees for the first time and I knew my life would be so different. I tasted freedom for the first time. During this time, I wanted a bike more than anything and the AMRC found me a bike. I was so happy riding my bike everywhere,” he said.

Soon after his arrival, the 21-year-old started studying English at Thebarton Senior College and undertook a hairdressing course at TAFE SA. He is now working as a trainee hair stylist at the Fandi hairdressing salon in Salisbury. “This is what I want to do. I want to be a great hairstylist,” he said.