Selam Tegegn: How childhood robbery in Nairobi shaped my advocacy journey

For Selam Tegegn, Nairobi was never just a stop along a migration journey. It became the place where a frightened child slowly found courage, belonging and a sense of responsibility to others, lessons that would later shape her life as a humanitarian, nurse and multicultural advocate in Australia.

Born in Ethiopia and shaped by her Eritrean heritage, her early years were marked by movement across borders during a period of political instability in the Horn of Africa.

But when her family arrived in Kenya in 1998, Nairobi offered something they had not experienced in a long time: stability.

Now 35, she still speaks about the capital with warmth and emotion, recalling the quiet residential compounds, childhood friendships, school dance classes and the meals that made her feel at home.

“Nairobi became a place of healing for us,” she says. “It was where we reunited as a family, where I learned Kiswahili, strengthened my English and understood what community really means.”

Selam was only about eight years old when she witnessed a robbery unfold in broad daylight inside a wealthy neighbour’s home.

“I was just hopping along the garden heading to the gate,” she says. “Then I saw this man standing near the back gate, directing people inside the house. Immediately, something didn’t feel right.”

What followed was chaos. Windows shattered, doors were smashed open and bags of valuables were carried out through the back entrance as Selam watched in shock.

“I froze,” she says. “But then I started screaming from the top of my lungs because I couldn’t believe this was happening to our auntie.”

That experience would later influence her career and advocacy work.

After migrating to Australia, she established herself as a registered nurse specialising in ophthalmology and became a respected multicultural community leader in Western Australia.