“I have learnt many things on the journey from Bhutan to Blacktown, from one of the poorest to one of the richest countries on earth; a journey of the feet and the heart, a journey that began when, as a six-year-old boy working on a rice terrace, I looked across the fields and saw something that would change the course of my life.”

Blacktown community leader Om Dhungel, known for his tireless work in assisting and settling refugees and empowering communities, is officially launching his book ‘Bhutan to Blacktown: losing everything and finding Australia’ at the Max Webber Library Function Centre on 1 May.

The event, which quickly sold out, will see Om joined by Elfa Moraitakis, CEO of SydWest Multicultural Services.

Written with Walkley Award-winning journalist James Button, Bhutan to Blacktown is billed as a story of grit and struggle, humour and irrepressible optimism — and how losing nearly everything can shape a man’s character and fate.

It contains a foreword by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese who said, “What you hold in your hands is a great Australian story.”

Defining himself as a ‘strategic connector’, Om is a trainer, speaker, consultant and a practitioner of Strength-Based Approach to refugee settlement and community engagement.

“My work in empowering communities including assisting refugees into employment has been well recognised including through awards such as the 2016 Community Service Lifetime Achievement Award and 2012 National Volunteer Award,” he said.

Om is an impressive community activist. Once stateless, he has held several community positions including; board member and chairperson of the SydWest Multicultural Services and board member of Settlement Services International.

One of the inaugural Westpac Social Change Fellows, Om is also the founding president of the Association of Bhutanese in Australia and currently a member of Council’s Multicultural Advisory Committee, an Asylum Seekers Centre board member and a member of the NSW Police Commissioner’s Multicultural Advisory Council.

Bhutan to Blacktown is available at book stores and online from 1 May, with a recommended retail price of $32.99.