“I grew up in a family of entrepreneurs,” says 26-year-old Yarrie Bangura. “Business was how my aunties and my mum made a living. Then, after we fled the war in Sierra Leone, I watched my mum hustle to survive, selling bags of rice at the market to make a profit.”
Yet when Yarrie shared her own plans to start her business, Aunty’s Ginger Tonic, her mum did everything she could to discourage her.
“She pointed out that there was no one in my life with my skin colour that I could look to as a role model,” says Yarrie, who now lives in Sydney. “Knowing that I wanted to contribute to Australia, which had given me a second chance at life, Mum said I should complete my degree, get a job and give back that way. She was trying to be kind - I think she was afraid I’d be heartbroken by people not accepting my business.”
As Yarrie told this story to Janine Allis last week, the Boost Juice founder and Leading Women Fund ambassador experienced a jolt of recognition. When Janine started Boost Juice 20 years ago, her grandmother commented that no one would ever listen to her in business because she was a woman.
“She could not believe I was running a company,” she laughs. “It was only when she read an article about me in the Herald Sun that she accepted it was true.”
Although Janine and Yarrie are connected through Australia for UNHCR (Yarrie is a Special Youth Representative), the women hadn’t met until their Zoom call last week, which had been facilitated by national director Naomi Steer (“I knew they’d get on,” she says). Sure enough, they hit it off - finding common ground in their approach to business, and life.
Yarrie Bangura, the entrepreneur behind Aunty's Ginger Tonic, shared her story with Boost Juice founder Janine Allis. The two entrepreneurs found common ground in their approach to business and life. ©Supplied
“What I like about her is that she was willing to have a crack - to have a go,” says Janine. “She has a great product that taps into a number of trends - she’s onto something.” And for Yarrie, the opportunity to talk business with Janine was a dream come true.
“When I started my business, I needed to build my confidence, so I did a lot of research to find entrepreneurs who weren’t born with a silver spoon in their mouths and had to work hard, like me,” she says, with excitement in her voice. “That’s how I came across Janine. I watched her all the time on the screen. So felt too good to be true to actually talk to her.”
“I thought I was dreaming,” she laughs.
Yarrie and Janine met on a Zoom call last week, facilitated by Australia for UNHCR National Director Naomi Steer. ©Supplied
Women have always known the power of connection, which is one of the most exciting aspects of the Leading Women Fund. Donors to the fund will join a community of engaged, dynamic changemakers like Yarrie and Janine, who are committed to supporting women, both here and overseas.
“One of the reasons we need networks is that no one has all the answers,” says Janine. “So the best groups of people are those that have a range of skills and are prepared to share. I find there’s always someone in a group who forces you to think differently about a problem, or has a contact that can help you.”
In the three years it took to research her business prior to launch last year, Yarrie reached out to anyone she thought might help. “I wrote to companies to see if they’d take me on as a trainee, and refugee organisations to see if they’d help me, too, which they did,” she says.
After perfecting her ginger tonic - based on a much-loved family recipe - Yarrie sold it at markets, which is where she met a customer who helped her find a manufacturer. “I could never make enough in my kitchen - we always sold out,” she says. “And this customer said, ‘Yarrie, there is another way.’”
Now, Aunty’s Ginger Tonic is sold in retailers such as Harris Farm, and Yarrie’s new focus is scaling the business. Janine has agreed to mentor her, and Yarrie in turn mentors other people from refugee backgrounds like her own.
“For me, I believe that a life lived just for myself is a life wasted, but a life that empowers other people is fulfilled,” she says. “I run workshops with disadvantaged young people and I go to schools, and I talk to young people about business, because it seems scary, right? But I don’t talk to them about the business, I talk to them about creativity. Because if they fall in love with an idea, they’ll give it 100 per cent.
“When I arrived in Australia I was so grateful for what felt like a second opportunity at life. I made a promise to myself that I would do everything I could to contribute.”
Join the leading women fund today
Share this:
You can help
Host a bake sale, climb a mountain or do a fun run to raise funds for vital aid.
Privacy Policy
Australia for UNHCR (ABN 35 092 843 322) respects the importance of privacy and security of your personal information. This privacy policy sets out the way we collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information and underpins our commitment to protecting your right to privacy. This policy reflects Australia for UNHCR’s obligations under the Privacy Act 1988 (including the Australian Privacy Principles) (the Privacy Act). As members of the following bodies, we adhere to additional codes of conduct and ethical fundraising practices:
We may revise this Privacy Policy or any part of it from time to time. You will find the most current version on our website or obtain a copy from our Donor Care Team; contact details are included at the bottom of this policy.
Collection of Personal Information
Australia for UNHCR follows the Australian Privacy Principles in handling personal information; we collect personal information about individuals including supporters, employees, contractors, volunteers, special representatives/delegates and job applicants. This information may be collected directly from you in person, by phone or email, on hard copy donation forms, via our website or social media. We may also collect your personal information from publically available sources or third parties.
Use of Personal Information
The personal information we collect and hold generally includes contact details (i.e. name, address, email and phone number), personal details including date of birth, and credit card or bank accounts details.
We use the personal information you provide us with for the purpose for which it was provided to us, other related purposes or as permitted or required by law. Generally we collect and use your personal information for:
As detailed below we also use your information in our marketing and fundraising activities, keeping you informed of our latest news, campaigns and appeals or about campaigns and appeals which may be of interest to you. We may also offer you the opportunity to participate in surveys carried out by Australia for UNHCR or its agents.
By completing our donation and pledge forms you consent to Australia for UNHCR storing your personal information for processing donations, communicating with you, issuing receipts and sharing with our trusted service providers. We will endeavour to provide you with an opportunity to opt out of receiving future communications and make every effort to ensure that our opt-out notices are clear and easy to follow. If you do not wish to receive future communications from Australia for UNHCR or wish to limit the use of your personal information then please contact our Donor Care Team; contact details are included at the bottom of this policy.
Direct Marketing
We use your personal details to assist in the cost-effective development of our marketing and fundraising activities by sending you information by post, email, SMS or telephone. As we have a large number of supporters, at times we use external providers to assist with our telemarketing and mailing. We will take reasonable steps to ensure that our contracts with third parties include requirements for third parties to comply with the use and disclosure requirements of the Privacy Act and the Australian Privacy Principles.
Disclosure and Sharing of Personal Information
We occasionally invite other like-minded and trusted organisations in Australia to contact you with information that may be of interest. This allows Australia for UNHCR to increase its base of supporters and reach more people with our vital message.
Any personal contact information you provide to us may be disclosed, if appropriate, to third parties who provide services on our behalf. We may also disclose your personal information to our volunteers who assist with many of our events and administration duties.
Strict confidentiality agreements are in place with our service providers and external agencies, and with staff and volunteers who handle your personal information. We will only disclose your personal information for the purposes for which it was initially collected, other directly related purposes or purposes to which you otherwise consent.
Other than as stated above, we will not share your personal information. However, it is possible, though unlikely, that we might be forced to disclose personal information in response to legal processes or when we believe in good faith that the law requires it, for example, in response to a court order, subpoena or a law enforcement agency's request.
If you do not wish Australia for UNHCR to share your personal information with like-minded and trusted organisations in Australia, you may opt out by ticking the related boxes on our donation pledge forms or by contacting our Donor Care team; contact details are included at the bottom of this policy.
Access and Correction of Personal Information
Australia for UNHCR will correct its records containing personal information as soon as practically possible at the request of the individual concerned in accordance with the Privacy Act. We take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information that we collect and hold is accurate, complete and up-to-date. However, we rely on you to advise us of any changes to your personal information to help us maintain accurate, complete and up-to-date information.
We will, on request, provide you with access to the personal information we hold about you unless otherwise required or permitted by law. We will notify you of the basis for any denial of access to your personal information.
Individuals wishing to lodge a request to access and/or correct their personal information should do so by contacting our Donor Care Team; contact details are included at the bottom of this document.
Quality of Personal Information
Australia for UNHCR will review, on a regular and ongoing basis, its collection and storage practices to ascertain how improvements to accuracy can be achieved. We may utilise the services of third parties in order to maintain accurate personal information. Where such disclosure is made, we take reasonable steps to require these organisations comply with the Australian Privacy Principles.
Storage and Security of Information
We strive to protect your personal information, that it is protected from misuse, loss, interference and unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. For example, whenever we ask for your financial details online, we use industry standard security on our website forms.
No data transmission over the internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, while we strive to protect your personal information, Australia for UNHCR cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us over the internet, and you do so at your own risk. Once we receive your transmission, we make our best effort to try and ensure its security both on our systems and while in transit between our systems and the companies who provide us with various services. Third party service providers may use data centres overseas or be located overseas. If you do not wish to make your financial contribution online, please contact our Donor Care Team to receive a hard copy form; contact details are included at the bottom of this policy.
Making a Privacy Complaint
If you wish to make a complaint about a breach of this privacy policy, the Privacy Act or the Australian Privacy Principles you can contact our Donor Care Team; contact details are included at the bottom of this policy.
We will manage your complaint in accordance with our Complaints Policy. You will need to provide us with sufficient details regarding your complaint as well as any supporting evidence and/or information. We will contact you if we require any additional information from you and will notify you in writing of the outcome of the investigation. If you are not satisfied with our determination, you can contact us to discuss your concerns. If your complaint is about the way we handle your personal information, you may also contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner by calling 1300 363 992, online at www.oaic.gov.au or writing to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001.
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
A4U does not have an establishment in the European Union (EU), does not offer goods or services to individuals in the EU and does not monitor behaviour of individuals as far as their behaviour takes place in the EU. Individuals located in the EU should contact UNHCR’s National Representatives in their respective countries or via the global UNHCR website.
Online Activity and Privacy
Cookies
Cookies are small text files which are downloaded to and stored on your device when you visit a website. Cookies are widely used by website owners to provide you with a good experience while you browse, and also to provide information which can help website owners to improve websites.
Our site uses cookies to:
We do not use cookies to:
What cookies do we use and for what purposes?
The cookies used on our site fall into four categories – strictly necessary cookies, functional cookies, performance cookies and advertising cookies. Each of these categories is explained below along with details of the specific cookies used, though within each category we may use additional or alternative cookies at any time.
Please note that third parties (including, for example, advertising networks and providers of external services like web traffic analysis services) may also use cookies, over which we have no control. These cookies are likely to be performance cookies or advertising cookies.
These cookies are essential for our site to work, for example to allow you to make a donation, submit a service request or register for an event on our site.
These cookies enhance your experience whilst using the site by recognising you when you return to our site; for example, by remembering your content or accessibility preferences.
These cookies collect information about how visitors use our websites, such as which pages visitors go to most often, and if they get error messages from web pages. These cookies do not collect personal information; all information collected by these cookies is aggregated and therefore anonymous.
These cookies contain campaign related information on or for the user. Remarketing is a way for us to connect with people who have recently interacted with our site. We may place remarketing cookies on your device during your visit so that our preferred selected third-party suppliers, including Google, may use the information gathered to show you relevant Australia for UNHCR advertising when you visit other websites. If we have linked our Google Analytics and AdWords accounts, AdWords website conversion tags will read these cookies unless you opt-out.
We use some third party services or software on our website including cookies, Facebook pixels and SDKs. Third parties, including Facebook, YouTube, Google and Twitter may use cookies, web beacons and other storage technologies to collect or receive information from our website and elsewhere on the Internet and use that information to provide measurement services and target ads. A4U does not control the setting of these services or software, so we suggest you check the third party website for more information about how to opt out of the collection and use of information for ad targeting.
To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them on a wide variety of desktop browsers, visit www.aboutcookies.org or www.aboutads.info/choices
Why we use cookies
When you visit our website our server tracks non-personal statistical information about your experience on the site, such as pages viewed and donation details. Australia for UNHCR websites uses cookies and tracking technology to enhance your experience and deliver content relevant to your behaviour. This enables us to gather information such as the number of website visits and how you interact with our website. We use this information to help us understand more about how our site is used, so we can continually improve your experience.
We also use cookies for tracking the statistics of our website, which allows us to better understand your visit and improve the layout and functionality of our website. This analysis is conducted in such a way to ensure the anonymity of visitors while the information can help us customise the online experience for visitor to our site. No personally identifiable information is obtained. Information is gathered at an aggregate level and may be shared with third parties to help us analyse website usage and deliver marketing material.
By accepting our cookie policy and continuing to use our sites without changing settings, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.
Controlling the use of cookies
If you do not wish to receive any cookies you may set your browser to either prompt you to accept cookies on each visit or refuse all cookies.
Most internet browsers automatically accept cookies unless you change your browser settings. If you wish to restrict, block or delete the cookies which are set by any websites, you can generally do this through your browser settings. These settings are usually found in the 'options' or 'preferences' menu of your internet browser.
Please note however, that if you set your internet browser preferences to block all cookies, you may not be able to access all or parts of our site. Unless you have adjusted your internet browser settings to block cookies, our site will set cookies.
We use some third party services or software on our website. Third parties, including Facebook, YouTube, Google and Twitter may use cookies, web beacons and other storage technologies to collect or receive information from our website and elsewhere on the Internet and use that information to provide measurement services and target ads. A4U does not control the setting of these cookies, so we suggest you check the third party website for more information about how to opt out of their collection and use of information for ad targeting.
To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them on a wide variety of desktop browsers, visit www.aboutcookies.org or www.aboutads.info/choices
Social Media
Our website and mobile site may contain links to online forums. Think carefully before you post or publish any Personal Information in these forums as it will be publicly available.
Secure Online Transactions
If you make a donation via our website, we process your credit/debit card details securely using an accredited internet payment security system. With the combination of SSL encryption on our website and a secure browser at your end, we take all reasonable measures to ensure that your credit/debit card and personal information are protected when you donate online. We also recommend that you take appropriate security precautions when accessing the internet via public Wi-Fi networks or shared computers.
Contact Us
You will find the most current version of our Privacy Policy on our website at privacy-policy.
If you have any questions about your privacy, wish to access or change your details, how to lodge a complaint regarding the handling of your information and how that complaint will be handled by Australia for UNHCR, please contact our Donor Care Team:
