Creating connections and partnerships across communities and organisations.

Why This Matters

No community thrives in isolation. For Afghans in Australia, building connections — both within our own community and outward toward the wider society — is essential for belonging, opportunity, and mutual understanding. Bridges break down stereotypes. They turn strangers into neighbours and create pathways for collaboration.

Our Approach

We take an active, intentional approach to relationship-building. Our work connects Afghan individuals and families with each other, with other migrant communities, and with mainstream Australian organisations.

We create spaces where Afghans across Queensland can meet, share resources, and support one another. Our events, volunteer network, and informal gatherings help reduce isolation and strengthen the social fabric of our community. Currently, 120 active volunteers contribute to this network, many forming lasting friendships through their involvement.

We partner with 15 community organisations, multicultural councils, and service providers to run joint events and initiatives. Our “Taste of Afghanistan” stalls at local festivals, co-hosted with Brisbane and Logan councils, welcome over 1,000 visitors annually. We also participate in cross-cultural dialogues with Indigenous, Pacific Islander, and other migrant groups, fostering solidarity and shared learning.

For mainstream organisations seeking to engage respectfully with the Afghan community, we offer cultural advisory services. This includes guidance on appropriate communication, consultation processes, and program design. Our aim is to ensure that when services reach our community, they do so in a way that is accurate, respectful, and genuinely useful.

Our volunteer network is the engine of our bridge-building work. Last year, volunteers contributed an estimated 3,500 hours — driving neighbours to appointments, translating documents, setting up events, and simply being present. Volunteering itself becomes a bridge: it connects people to purpose and to each other.

What This Looks Like in Practice

At a local festival, an Afghan grandmother teaches an Australian family how to fold samosas. A young Hazara professional joins a multicultural youth advisory panel. A community nurse calls Mehrabani to ask how to better serve her Afghan patients. These are bridges being built, one conversation at a time.

A Quiet Truth

Building bridges is slow work. It takes patience, humility, and a willingness to be misunderstood and to try again. But every genuine connection made — between neighbours, organisations, or generations — strengthens the foundation beneath all of us.

A Word from Our Community

One mentee shared, “Before Mehrabani, I felt torn between two worlds. Now I see my Afghan heart and my Australian life as one beautiful thing.”