Purpose

To assist individuals, families and communities in unlocking their potential, strengthening their resilience and rebuilding their lives while making a positive contribution to society.

• Will contain a section on the founder, his story and the reasons he has started the organisation
  

Dieudonne migrated to Australia from Africa as a teenage boy in 2007, seeking protection and better opportunities in life.

After his arrival and the completion of high school and an English as a Second Language (ESL) programme that helped him complete his Victorian Certificate of Education, he went on to complete a Diploma, Bachelors and a Masters degree in Social Sciences.

Drawing on his childhood and the difficult conditions that had driven him from his home, Dieudonne dedicated any extra time he had outside of classes to working as a youth worker, case manager and project co-ordinator at private and not-for-profit organisations that include:

• The Dandenong City Council
• Wesley Mission Victoria
• Anglicare Victoria
• The Centre for Multicultural Youth
• The African Communities Foundation of Australia
• The Melbourne Youth Justice Detention Centre

His studies and experiences as a case manager and youth worker helped him realise that some communities and local government services did not factor in specific experiences and circumstances faced by each migrant or refugee arriving in the country and a lack of dedicated attention was leading the youth astray and towards a life of crime.

He identified some of the key issues driving this behaviour as:

•  Racism and discrimination
• Lack of skills and employment opportunities
• Lack of mental health or PTSD support
• Lack of a purpose in life
• Lost connections to their families and homes

Reflecting on his own experiences and the cultural and social difficulties he faced when he first arrived in Australia, Dieudonne founded Roots of Hope with the aim of providing culturally specific services to those that most need it.

• Programmes and Activities (Current)