The application went in 2017. Akol Manyang Nyinde Koor was still a teenager in South Sudan, growing up in a household held together by her uncle's wages sent from Australia. He had been paying for food, school fees, medicine, and rent from the other side of the world for years. When he applied for his nieces and nephews to join him, they waited. And kept waiting.
They arrived on March 11, 2025. Eight years after the paperwork was lodged.
“When we reached the Sydney airport, we were all looking everywhere. We were like, this is Australia. Back home it is just a small town. It's called a city, but it's a town. And then here, tarmac roads everywhere.”
Akol grew up knowing she wanted to be a doctor. Australia, in her mind, was where she was going to study properly, access real facilities, and build something that could stand on its own. What she did not know until she arrived was how much the visa category she came in on would shape her first months here. The Orphan Relative Visa, subclass 117, does not carry access to Centrelink payments for adults. There was another detail Akol had not factored into the plan. She arrived pregnant.
It was Cholhok Mathiang, a family connection who had worked with Mosaic, who brought Akol and her siblings to meet Madan, their caseworker. That first meeting set the tone for everything that followed. Madan found a horticulture farm in the region with casual harvest positions available. He organised mock interviews, let them use the office computers to sit the real interview online, and kept every question answered. When the email came through confirming all three siblings had been offered positions, the household did not sleep.
“Everyone kept telling us, getting jobs is not easy when you have just arrived in Australia. But with Mosaic, everything was made simple.”
What the farm has meant to her goes beyond a pay cheque. When she was heavily pregnant, she was not put on a roster and left to manage. Supervisors noticed when she was on her feet too long. They told her to sit. When she felt dizzy, they sent her for water. After her baby was born and childcare arrangements occasionally fell through, there was no pressure, no performance review, no quiet disappointment.
“They acted like my family. I don't know if we would ever get the chance to see people like them.”
Mosaic kept moving through that period too. Madan worked through Centrelink with Akol to ensure her baby was registered for the payments she was entitled to. Photo identification was sorted. Learner driver permits were obtained. First Aid certification was completed, including CPR, fire response, and choking procedures that Akol now applies as a mother.
Her dream of medicine has not gone anywhere. It has recalibrated. A year of steady work, a baby, a driving licence in progress, TAFE registration underway: the foundation is being built carefully, and nursing is what she is moving towards.
“Don't feel shy. Don't feel intimidated. Come out, speak to someone at Mosaic. Everything remains private. Because if you are at home and you are having an issue, will anybody know? No. But if you come out and talk about it, they will know. You will be helped and you will feel secure. Mosaic opens the door and you follow them.”