Sabs' Reflective Writings

Final Blog, 30 October 2019

How strange it is to have completed this amazing journey.

I have learned so much about both about myself and my own limits, but also about what it means to be a part of an organisation that works with vulnerable people.

In this post I will share a significant learning experience I had in my 4 months with Free to Feed. I have put a trigger warning since it does contain themes that may be triggering to some.

Working with People Who Have Experienced Trauma

Trigger warning: self-harm.

The incident itself actually happened before I joined the organisation, but I had the privilege of experiencing how Free to Feed (FTF) learned from it. Prior to me joining the organisation, one of the participants attempted suicide. Several of the employees at FTF knew that the person was struggling and supported to the best of their abilities. It is important to mention that FTF is a food industry employer and employment program – not a counselling service. However, many participants are very close with the permanent staff, and in many ways view them as extended family. For this reason, the staff wanted to make sure that they are properly equipped if anything like this were to happen again. Something, which is a real risk, considering the cohort they work with, who in many cases have experienced trauma before, and perhaps even during, their arrival to Australia. Additionally, many are living in great uncertainty in terms of having sufficient income to support themselves (and possible family/children), whether their visa will be renewed, and with constant worries about their family they have left behind (these are just some of the triggers I have noticed through my conversations with participants and staff). Galera, Giannetto & Noya (2018) suggest that social enterprises and non-profit organisations are playing an increasingly greater role in the inclusion of refugees and asylum seekers into the workforce. For this exact reason, it is crucial that organisations that do focus on employment also know how to deal with the complex issues that this population is dealing with.

FTF decided to invite two counsellors from Foundation House to come talk to us about working with people who have experienced trauma and may be experiencing a reinforcement of trauma through the hardship they face in Australia. I was lucky enough as an intern to be a part of that workshop, which really opened my eyes to what participants at FTF actually deal with behind the scenes. I, for example, experienced a participant having breakdown during a cooking class due to a tray being dropped in the kitchen. In the workshop with Foundation House I came to realise that loud noises can be a major trigger for people who have experienced trauma. This awareness of triggers is so important for my future career, because it allows me to be responsive to their needs in a more appropriate manner.

My RRR Question

My RRR question has evolved out of a combination of my learnings from my previous entry and this one. It is:

How does power, voice and agency impact participant feedback?

I want to explore how we best include people who may have previously been silenced, and who may be affected by invisible barriers in their own life as well as in their public life, at work and in organisations they are involved with. Feedback is such an important factor in improving services, and the subject of the service is the most important source of feedback, since they are the direct beneficiary.

Source:

Galera, G, Giannetto, L & Noya, A 2018, The Role of Non-State Actors in the Integration of Refugees and Asylum Seekers, OECD Publishing, Paris.

Reflective Blog 2, 29 August 2019

I started my placement in June. It is now late August, and one of my biggest challenges so far have been in the struggle of finding a way to break down barriers for the participation by beneficiaries in giving feedback on structure and performance of Free to Feed (FTF) and staff.

The main barriers that I have noticed include:

• English as second language (is it primarily the written English that is a barrier, but spoken is also an issue with some participants)
• Technology
• Previous experiences with giving feedback/cultural issues related to feedback-giving (especially when giving feedback to employer or superior)
• Dependency on organisation for work (and therefore income)

Language and technology were both pretty obvious barriers from the get-go. However, the latter two took me a little while to put into words. The feedback that we did get was incredibly positive and praising – even when other people in the cooking class would say that there was not enough zucchini or that the hot water tap was acting up. This made me question what could possibly keep them from sharing this with us.

It is not that they do not trust Free to Free. In fact, they often communicate both happy and sad times in their lives to us. I definitely think that some of it is due to fear. Even though they do know and trust us, they are so dependent on their shifts at FTF that they are afraid to disturb the status quo. Many of the participants in the program are facing a variety of issues in their personal lives, including financial struggles and mental health issues, meaning they are incredibly dependent on Free to Feed for both income and psycho-social support.

My biggest learning in all of this is the importance of being aware of power structures and barriers – especially when they are not necessarily obvious. It can be really hard to enable people who have previously been silenced to now have a voice, and to use that voice. I remember in Learning and Participation on my first semester, this was one of the major topics, however, there is such a big difference between being in a classroom and discussing theory, and then using it in real life situations, where everything is not necessarily black and white.

I am excited to see where the rest of this journey takes me!

Securing My Placement

Finding my final placement has been quite a struggle for me. However, despite the process being long and frustrating, it has taught me a lot about myself, and how I handle myself in stressful situations. It took me more than 2.5 months from when I first began applying with organisations until I actually got the chance to talk to someone. I heard back from a couple of places that I emailed, however, they all informed me that they did not have capacity or that they already had all the placements filled. This was a very stressful and frustrating time for me, as I felt my options very rapidly narrowing down to nothing. However, in mid-May, I finally heard back from two places within two days, and attended interviews with both. Ultimately, one had to be declined, due to time limits.

My Placement Details

The placement I will be undertaking is with the organisation Free to Feed (https://www.freetofeed.org.au/aboutus), which has two different locations in Thornbury and Northcote. Free to Feed works with refugees and asylum seekers to boost their confidence, decrease isolation and empower them by employing them on a fair wage, foster skill development and improve language skills. They are employed as instructors who share their culture and food through cooking classes and workshops. My output is 40 days and will be undertaken over the course of 3-4 months between 11 June 2019 to 31 October 2019, and I will be participating in the day-to-day workings of the organisation and assisting with the development of the organisation’s first monitoring and evaluation program, including the collection of base line data.

Why Free to Feed?

I have always been interested in working towards making the world a better and more inclusive place and helping others to reach their full potential and increase their opportunities in life. Additionally, I have always had a deep curiosity about other cultures and practices, and despite coming from a very homogenous culture myself, I find that I thrive a lot better in a multicultural environment, because there is more room to explore other sides of yourself than when in an environment where everyone is expected to act or look a certain way. Free to Feed works with the empowerment, capacity building, and workforce inclusion of refugees and asylum seekers, and I am very excited about being able to join them, both because of my own passion for refugee and asylum seeker rights, but also because this is the kind of work I want to be doing once I finish my degree. I was sold as soon as they mentioned the possibility of me assisting on their first M&E, since this was something I really enjoyed studying and doing in International Project Management last year. Building on this skill set outside of a classroom setting, is a learning experience that I feel very grateful to have been given. 

I am very aware of the fact that I will be stepping into this process from a place of privilege. I am a white middle-class woman from a European country. However, I am also an immigrant living in this country, and although I do not share (and could never even begin to imagine) the struggles the instructors at Free to Feed have experienced, I am willing to listen and learn, which I believe is at the base of good development.

Hi everyone!

I have never had a blog before so this will definitely be a new learning experience.

Hope you will be enjoying my posts!

Cheers!

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton