BPW
Geelong has had an ongoing involvement with
East Timor for approximately 4 – 5
years. This first began when a member invited
us to attend a function where the then First
Lady of East Timor, Kirsty Sword Gusmao
was a speaker. Following on from this function
our Club decided to support East Timor.
Our first initiative was to ask Kirsty Sword
Gusmao to become an Honorary Member of BPW
Geelong, which she willingly accepted.
Since then we have regularly
sent donations to purchase birthing packages
for new mothers and have attended many activities
held by our local Australian-East Timor
Association and have also attended functions
at which Kirsty Sword Gusmao was speaking.
Through our Club we have had regular contact
with Ms Gusmao. We asked how we could really
make a difference to the women of her country
and we were advised that if we could host
a young woman who wanted to set up a women’s
refuge for women who had suffered from domestic
violence, then this would go a long way
to help the women of East Timor.
East Timor Project
BPW Links
- Developing the professional potential
of women at all levels
- Domestic Violence Project
Alola Foundation
Purpose:
- Restoring dignity, building bridges
of understanding and support to Timorese
women and their families
Patron:
- Kirsty Sword Gusmao, First Lady of East
Timor
Fokupers
Our vision is for a world
where there is gender justice and equality
between men and women. Our mission is to
promote women’s human rights and strengthen
the socio-economic capacity of East Timorese
women, through accompaniment and policy
advocacy
Project Aims:
To provide an opportunity for an East Timorese
woman to gain exposure to Australian culture
and way of life;
-
Through a workplace
internship, possibly part-time, gain
some experience in the area of office
administration and management, including
attainment of a reasonable standard
of spoken conversational and written
English;
-
Attain a degree
of confidence with the preparation of
simple project proposals and budgets
in English;
-
Form personal ties
with members of the Geelong community,
particularly those with a commitment
to community development schemes in
Timor-Leste;
-
Facilitate opportunities
for the visitor to raise awareness on
women’s issues, specifically the
problem of domestic violence in Timor-Leste,
within the Australian community, local
government networks, etc
-
Gain exposure to
the work of a women’s shelter/crisis
centre for survivors of domestic violence
and to the work of appropriate government
bodies activities in the field
Duration of stay to be
6 – 8 months with the Club to organize
billeting, work experience placements, classes
for English and business studies, air fares,
health insurance and a Special Class Visa.
Project Success Criteria
- Intern servers 6 months (minimum) in
Australia (BPW responsible)
- Intern has skills and knowledge to
establish a refuge in East Timor (Alola
Foundation)
- Inspires additional people to support
East Timor Domestic Violence in Australia
Scope
-
Flights to and from
Australia to be organized by BPW Geelong
-
Stay with Australian
families (organize suitable families
(approx. 5 – 6 for accommodation
plus others to assist at weekends for
recreational and sight seeing activities)
-
Be given the opportunity
to attend BPW, East Timor and other
organizations (speak at meetings, attend
functions, make connections).
-
Build skills and
confidence
-
Build English speaking
skills
-
Raise Awareness
within Australian Community on women’s
issues, in East Timor, particularly
domestic violence
-
Form ties with Geelong
Community
-
Gain exposure to
the work of women’s shelter/crisis
centre for survivors of domestic violence
and appropriate government bodies active
in the field
To enable all this to happen,
it was necessary for us to raise money to
fund air flights, to assist host families,
travel within Australia, provide food, clothing,
etc whilst in Australia and to also organize
a Special Class Visa.
To raise funds and to raise
awareness of domestic violence within our
local community as well as East Timor, we
held a corporate luncheon. The guest speakers
were the Managing Director of Target Australia,
a high-ranking policewoman and our East
Timor Project Leader who spoke on the impact
of domestic violence in business, in the
community and in East Timor.
This luncheon raised the
profile of BPW in the Geelong business community;
raised over $2000 towards the project; raised
community awareness on domestic violence
and raised community awareness of our East
Timor Project. Media coverage was on local
radio stations, local newspapers and the
Geelong Business News.
We also, with the pro bono
assistance of a local Immigration Agent,
have had to apply for a Special Class Visa.
This Visa has been very complicated and
has caused our project to be placed on hold.
Unlike a Visa where someone is holidaying,
attending school or working, our intern
is here on work experience and also her
son (5 years) will be required to attend
school. Our special Visa category has been
accepted, but we are still waiting on the
appropriate documentation from East Timor
to be approved. We have also been fortunate
to obtain free health insurance cover for
six months.
Under the Special Visa
Program we are able to bring up to two people
from East Timor to Australia each year.
This has not been an easy
project (and it is not finished yet), but
it has given us great leadership experience,
expanded our view of the world, created
a bond between those involved, challenged
us at all levels, enabled us to make contacts
with people and organizations who we may
never have done, created membership and
awareness of BPW, created contacts with
the media, links with local business, schools,
residents, organizations and the people
of East Timor. We feel privileged, honoured
and proud to have been, to be, and to continue
to be involved in this worthwhile project. |
