HUNTER New England Health (HNEH) worker Ashraf Abdelbaky has received the NSW Premier's Language Services Medal for 2022.
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Presented at the Premier's Multicultural Community Medal ceremony in Sydney earlier this month, the medal "recognises the achievements of an interpreter or translator" and their role increasing access to essential information.
Through his work as a staff translator and bicultural worker for HNEH, Mr Abdelbaky has played an important role in information dissemination, community assistance and mental health support during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"My manager called me one day on the weekend and he said we want to start a new program for cultural support," he said.
"For anyone who got COVID from a CALD (culturally and linguistically diverse) background we received a referral.
"We would explain to the family what the rules around isolation requirements were at the time and many of them were refugees so we used to support them financially with groceries and help with Centrelink."
On top of the community support, Mr Abdelbaky worked as a translator during information forums for the Arab community - clarifying COVID guidelines and vaccine information.
"We would have six or seven speakers such as police liaison officers, health experts and clinicians. I would interpret the speeches and then the questions and answers afterward," he said.
"There were a lot of rumours, misconceptions and conspiracy theories at the time but the forums lead to an increase in vaccination rates."
Mr Abdelbaky said there would sometimes be 100 people at the sessions, which he described as "very successful".
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Praising Mr Abdelbaky's role in the information push was service manager in Multicultural and Refugee Health at HNEH, Ashley Young.
"When you look at what happened in Sydney and Melbourne with multicultural communities and COVID you see how poor information services can lead to high infection and low vaccination rates," Mr Young said.
"Through the work of people like Ashraf we were able to keep numbers really low. He is dedicated, passionate and just puts everything into his work and community."
With two young children - the second of which was born hours after the award ceremony in Sydney - and a PhD in comparative English and Arabic, Mr Abdelbaky also runs a translation book club.
"Every second month we meet in the library at Wallsend and arrange to have read the same book which was originally in Arabic and translated to English," Mr Abdelbaky said.
"The aim is to bridge the cultural gap among the two communities."
Mr Abdelbaky now plans to focus on his business CALD Connect, which aims to establish an Arab youth Network in Newcastle to create connections and facilitate pathways into university and business.
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