A new computer for studying and education fees for a semester are just two things refugees will purchase with the money from a scholarship from Canberra Refugee Support.
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Others will buy joggers, and some will pay school fees.
The 53 recipients of the money will each receive a cheque of up to $1000 to help shape the rest of their lives.
The candidates have been chosen for their hard work and dedication to their education, and for their commitment to making their lives and their family's lives better.
Muzhgan Gafoori, 23, arrived in Canberra in 2013. She didn't speak English, but spent a year and a half learning the language.
She was born in Afghanistan and sought refuge in Australia with her parents and two younger siblings.
Ms Gafoori said her family came to Australia to feel safe.
"If you compare here to Afghanistan, it's more safe here. But you can't even compare it. At the moment in Afghanistan it's all war. Every day there are bomb blasts."
In the years since her arrival, Ms Gafoori has worked full time to support her family while also studying full time. She hopes to pursue a career in accounting, and is undertaking her diploma at CIT.
"It will help me pay for my diploma, and it will help me save for my advanced diploma next year," Ms Gafoori said of the scholarship.
Her dream is to finish her accounting degree, become an Australian citizen and get a good job.
"You can do whatever you want here, but you need to work hard for it," she said.
Mother-of-four Viola Oshan will be paying for a variety of things with her scholarship, putting it towards a new computer, her own education fees and her children's school fees.
Ms Oshan is from Luo ethnic group from South Sudan, but lived in North Sudan due to the war. She arrived in Australia in 2005.
"We moved from North Sudan to Egypt and I was in Egypt for four years and then from Egypt we came to Australia in 2004," Ms Oshan said. She was pregnant with her first son when she arrived, and her daughter was four years old.
Her son is now 12, and her daughter 17.
Ms Oshan works part time in a childcare to support her family both in Australia and overseas. She is also studying for her diploma in Early Childhood Education at CIT.
She also volunteers with a playground for children from the South Sudanese community. Ms Oshan said the transition to living in Australia was difficult, particularly the language barrier, but she was grateful for the help of Canberra Refugee Support.
"It's very hard, it means a lot," she said of the scholarship.
Canberra Refugee Support vice-president Brian Calder said the money was a recognition of achievement and effort the recipients were making in their education.
"They've come to Australia and they've really realised how education is a pathway to not only employment but to active involvement and contribution to their new community," he said.
Canberra Refugee Support is a Canberra-region not-for-profit organisation with a purpose to be a good neighbour to refugees and asylum-seekers.
