Nasim Zereka

Nasim Zereka was born in Lebanon and came to Australia with his family in 2000. He completed a Bachelor of Arts in Languages and a Masters in Primary Teaching at the University of Western Sydney, and has been teaching in Sydney since 2011. He was the Vice President of Mission of Hope, a charity established in 2002.

Mr Zereka travelled to Indonesia in January 2019 as part of the Australia-Indonesia Muslim Exchange Program. He travelled to Jakarta, Yogyakarta and Makassar, where he visited places of worship, schools and government organisations.

‘As a teacher, going into schools and witnessing the importance and emphasis on the Arabic language blew my mind away. I loved the efforts placed on inter-faith relationships with representatives from the various faiths. I also enjoyed visiting the different universities and meeting with board members and knowing more about requirements and courses,’ he said.

Since his return to Australia, Mr Zereka has maintained relationships with people he met while in-country. He has welcomed visitors from Indonesia to his school, and has accompanied them to the Rahma Mosque in Guildford, Sydney, to enjoy performances and to take part in discussions with members of the local Islamic community.

‘It was a great opportunity to welcome a group to Granville East Public School, where they saw students learning about Indonesia and visited different classrooms,’ Mr Zereka said. ‘My trip has given me the opportunities to meet people from Indonesia who bring different knowledge and expertise and many of them I still get in contact with through social media. This has definitely given many others from Australia and Indonesia the opportunity to meet and network and to know more about each other’s countries. I hope this continues to be a success and a help for Australia and Indonesia to strengthen their relationship.’

social mediaDecember 20, 2019