Ep 27: Hassan Hassan & Merhawi Gebremichael

It’s a truism that once you’ve made a journey you’re better placed to understand its demands. And hopefully pass on the learnings.Arriving in NZ, even with mastery of a range of other languages, there can still be struggles that the native English speaker may not recognise. A chronological age may prompt expectations of experience and understanding that a newcomer to a school (and even to systems of schooling) will struggle withIn Episode 13 we spoke with Hassan Hassan. He talked of arriving in New Zealand from Somalia at the age of 15, with no English and just a patchy experience of schooling. Dedication and application since that time means he's now earned a Masters Degree and is on track for more.For his friend, Merhawi Gebremichael, it was different. Speaking a number of languages including two Semitic languages, Arabic and Tigrinya, in Sudan he’d studied at Khartoum University; a place with a good reputation.So, two young men from a similar region of Africa – but different countries and communities and different faiths, one Christian, the other Muslim – they now work together to help other migrants and refugees navigate their own journeys. They speak here of gratitude for what they have received; a sense of debt perhaps; and a sense what they feel they owe and can give to others.