Patience has paid off for Dieudonne and his family

February 16, 2016

The former Burundi resident, who came to Australia as a humanitarian refugee nine years ago, had applied for a transfer from his Ballajura home that struggled to accommodate his family of five children. Homes of five bedrooms or more are rare in the affordable housing market, but when baby number six came along earlier this year, Foundation Housing stepped up the search and secured a larger home for the family in Marangaroo.

Dieudonne says he couldn’t be happier with his new home even though the wait for a transfer had been four years. “Everyone has to wait, especially when you have a large family, but as human beings we always want things to happen more quickly,” he says. “I would keep checking the website and calling the Foundation Housing office hoping for a good answer.  In February last year, my wife and I went to see the CEO, Kathleen, and she was one of the nicest people I have ever met. She is a very good person. She said she would work even harder to find us a bigger home and in April we were told this home was ready. We are definitely very happy.”

The family’s new home is not far from Girrawheen, where the family first lived after their emotional migration from Africa. Burundi is a country ravaged by decades of civil war and genocide and its people are among the poorest in the world. Most seek a life elsewhere and Dieudonne says he is now very grateful to call Australia – and WA in particular – home. The pride he takes in his new Marangaroo address is quickly evident to any visitor.

Foundation Housing recognises that tenants’ housing needs can change over time and works hard to make the best use of available homes. We genuinely care about the wellbeing of our tenants and want them to be happy and comfortable in their home. Our revised Transfer Policy now more effectively identifies priority cases and seeks out solutions.
We use about a quarter of our homes each year to rehouse tenants who qualify for a transfer. There are a number of conditions that must be met in order to qualify and these form part of the Transfer Policy located on our website. You can also ask for a copy from your Housing Coordinator.

All applications are handled fairly, honestly and openly. Once accepted, you’ll be able to see exactly how your request is progressing on our regularly updated waiting list. Our challenge is that the demand for transfers is greater than the number of spare homes we have available, but rest assured that we are on your side in finding a solution. We like nothing more than to create happy outcomes as we did for Dieudonne and his family.