Born in Mogadishu, Sadia and her family fled to Egypt when the civil war broke out in Somalia. Sadia spent majority of her childhood in Cairo. Her uncle Fouad who was living in Australia at the time sponsored Sadia and her family under a humanitarian visa. After being granted access they made their journey to Australia in 1996 at the age of 10 to begin their new life in Australia.
Sadia kicked off her professional career in the corporate world working with National Australia Bank as a People & Development Administrator, where she quickly evolved as a Learning Program Coordinator in the Academy scheduling and upskilling programs.
After careful consideration, she decided to change career paths for the pure purpose to serve her community. She went back to university and completed her Bachelor of International Development at La Trobe University, majoring in Anthropology. Following her passion, she joined her local Banyule Community Health centre, where she led The Somali Men’s Social Support Group which aimed to promote physical activity, good nutrition and provide an opportunity for social connectedness between older Somali men from the local Somali community. During that year, she also finalised her Master’s program and joined Himilo Community Connect, fulfilling her role as Program Coordinator where she coordinates the Himilo Women’s Health and Wellbeing and Playgroup programs.