This is the Haider family… Dad – Nouman, Mum – Martina and their four children, Amna, Inaya, Mohammed and Amal. In 2021, they became some of Playford’s newest Australian citizens.

“We were about to cry actually, we were so happy” Nouman reflected. “Very few people in the world see this kind of occasion in their life, having a citizenship of a first world country.”

They began the process to become Australian citizens in April 2017 when they arrived in Australia from Oman. “We chose to move to Playford in 2019 because of the facilities and affordability,” Nouman said. “We have everything here – schools, hospitals, shopping centres. From every perspective it’s perfect for us, we’re happy to be here.”

After arriving in Playford, Martina was directed to the John McVeity Centre (JMC) from the children’s school and felt that helped their family to become better connected with the community.

“There was an event at the JMC, so I met some of the Playford community and they gave me lots of information about activities the children could participate in,” Martina said. They have since joined after-school sports, drama classes and school holiday programs.

The family recognised Playford’s culturally diverse community through their connections with neighbours. They loved to socialise with their new friends, while the children played together in the street and they shared food between homes.

“It’s actually our tradition when you cook something, we cook a bit extra and we send to our neighbours,” Nouman said. “It’s part of our culture, you take care of your neighbours.”

More than 450 new citizens have been conferred by the City of Playford this year.

Top five birth countries of our new citizens:

• Syria
• Afghanistan
• Philippines
• India
• United Kingdom