https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-22/first-hike-project-welcome-refugees-/106005500
Halfway up a dirt trail leading to a rocky outcrop on the outskirts of Canberra, an Afghan teenager is teaching a public servant Farsi phrases.
The Australian struggles with the accent, and the teenager and her friends laugh.
Rain is coming down — big fat drops falling on gum leaves — but no one in the group of 40-odd hikers seems to mind.
They are part of a recent bushwalk organised by the not-for-profit First Hike Project (FHP), which was founded in 2015 with the goal of helping welcome refugees to Australia through an experience in the bush.
FHP now operates in five capital cities and has taken hundreds of young migrants on their first bushwalks in Australia.