MONA LISA

Mona, 18, who is on the verge of finishing her diploma course at Adelaide Institute of TAFE, plans to go to the university next year. The long match to freedom and a tertiary education, in a relatively short period of time, has been a tremendous achievement for one so young.

Mona (friends call her Mona Lisa) has various hobbies and interests that should be noted: she wants to travel, see the world, and if possible engage in international business. In her freshly minted mind, traveling is a form of education and always will be.

She was born in Port Sudan (the chief port of the Sudan on the Red Sea), but moved to Egypt because of the crisis in her home country. The family arrived Australia in 2000. And Mona is adapting extremely well to life in the land Down Under. “The life-style in Australia is quite good…and the people are friendly”, she says with a sweet smile, but “finding a good job is very challenging”.

Indeed, Mona is a beautiful young woman with a “clean life-style” and a strong religious belief. She neither smokes. Nor drinks. Nor go to the night clubs. But thrives in the company of good friends, and the family.

Thus, in a very special way, mixing beauty and intelligence and a good sense of humour has served Mona well. In fact, it has contributed immensely to her success in Australian society.