Blog #1

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.