THE
ZIMBABWE CONNECTION

OVERVIEW OF ORGANISATION

June 2002 to December 2005

As things stand and because of the decision made at our last AGM in November 2005, the existing executive committee will continue on in their role, to wind up the organisation’s affairs over the next few months. It is likely that this will take until about March 2006.

WHY DID WE MAKE THE DECISION: The decision was made because the organisation was insufficiently supported financially or in terms of required voluntary hours to be able to maintain such a large workload and the prospects of being able to continue to reimburse volunteers for their direct costs were poor.

WHAT HAS THE ORGANISATION ACHIEVED? I, Jill Lambert, helped co-ordinate meetings early in 2002, in order to form some sort of order from the concerned and good hearted intent which prevailed at the time. I write in my personal capacity therefore to give you an overview of what we achieved and what we might have done better. All over the world ex-Zimbabwean migrants have formed groups to help others make the transition. These have usually been informal and socially based groups and they have undoubtedly served their purpose. We decided that the Zimbabwe Connection should, while still encompassing this role, be more specifically focussed than this.

FORMATION AND COMMITTEE ROLES: By the middle of 2002, it was apparent that dramatic changes were occurring in Zimbabwe - likely to result in vastly increased and forced emigration. Many people in Australia were distressed at the high failure rate of Zimbabweans opting for a business visa as the mechanism to gain entry. It was heartbreaking hearing story after story of disaster as they lost everything again through trying to establish a business in a highly competitive country for which they had few business parameters or understanding.

WHAT ROLE COULD WE PLAY: Early discussions with John Haren of the Skilled Migration Department suggested the role we could play was one of “caring relative or friend.” In this role, we could seek employment or other sponsorship opportunities, so that those with the experience, but not necessarily the required skills or qualifications or who might be approaching or over the age of 45 could enter Australia legitimately. Discussions with Migration Agent Tracey Mays endorsed this approach and we were fortunate to have her expert guidance and availability for discussion throughout the last three years.

THE CONSTITUTION: We were also fortunate to have on that first committee, experts prepared to undergo all the ‘legitimacies’ of drawing up constitutions, registering names etc., For this demanding and often unrewarding work, we must thank Hayley Herbst, Nicola Brice and her late husband Bernard Hayward and Alastair Macfarlane. While we were all focussed on the help we might provide others, they insisted in our present-day litigious society, that we must operate according to the laws and statutes of Australia. Thank you! It was not always popular being brought to heel – but you were undeniably right and the ZCI emerged as a registered charitable organisation, with clear understanding of what it might or might not do.

IMAGE AND DOCUMENTS: I put the information portfolio together, designing the logo, producing various information sheets and data gathering documents, adapted an appropriate grief cycle and other helpful documents, then designed, wrote and put up the website.

MEET'N'GREET: Joy Brook headed up the meet’n’greet and support side of the organisation, ably assisted by Rose Hepple and the two of them increased their legitimacy further by becoming DIMIA accredited to meet and support newcomers. Particular mention must be made of Joy’s tireless work in sourcing food and clothing supplies and furniture for new arrivals – she was quite remarkable and the impact on her family as garages and bedrooms filled with furniture was enormous.

ADOPTING FAMILIES: together with Maureen Kerrigan and Sandra Pulford, Joy oversaw the ‘adopting families’ lists and terms of reference – allocating new arrivals to a family for a couple of days recuperation and required settlement procedures, before going to their place of work. Frequently these adopting families kept in touch with the new families and became their 'mentors' in a new land. Mandy and Colin Campbell took over this role from the second AGM onwards and have been outstanding in their generosity of spirit and dedication to the job as it grew busier and busier over the next two years. Often, for one reason or another, offers from adopting families did not materialize so Mandy and Colin put up many families themselves – thus putting them and their own family under strain.

A FASHIONABLE WARDROBE! Together with Leigh Leiman’s generous offer of storage space and hours of sorting and indexing, new families found a stunning free resource of fashionable and practical clothing for all age groups and climatic conditions. It was an extraordinary achievement.

THE SOCIAL AGENDA: Socially, Mike Hepple was invaluable in organizing braais and other get-togethers and we held several wonderfully positive occasions in the National Parks, which may well now continue.

MAKING CONNECTIONS AND FINDING JOB OFFERS: Richard Williams and I went on the first regional visit to the south-east of South Australia to try and persuade those in agriculture, horticulture or forestry, to employ skilled and experienced Zimbabweans. The fact that we have 26 ex Zimbabwean families placed in that one area alone is testament to the willingness of employers in the south-east to help. This has been of mutual benefit as it is re-vitalising the rural areas as well – with area schools having to purchase new buses and take on more teachers as a result. I have added for your interest, an overview written about the recent Robe workshop. Have a look at Workshop in Robe

INTEREST FROM ZIMBABWEANS: By the end of the first year we had over 100 cv’s requiring attention and it was obvious that there were not enough hours in the day for me to continue in the role of Chair as well doing the connections and still trying to earn a living. We needed someone with contacts who could develop the donations and gifts side of the organisation so that we could continue to expand interstate. I was greatly relieved when Fraser Bell expressed interest and took over the position. His legal expertise in particular, has been very important during his tenure.

COPING WITH THE LOAD: Another year passed during which many successful connections were made. However I was aware that demand was outstripping my ability to service it and my anxiety grew, that not enough was being done.

I felt that unless we could create a central database (requiring huge funding) accessible to a wider team of volunteers, each responsible for only10 to 15 families requiring help - it was not going to be possible to continue. I was increasingly anxious about how difficult it was to find offers of work for black Zimbabweans. I worked long and hard with Brighton to see how we could overcome this. Brighton was excellent – prepared to pick up the phone at all times, despite his own personal difficulties – to speak to potential employers, undertake public speaking and follow up wherever possible. But, sadly, and for a a number of reasons directly related to general mistrust of the political situation in Zimbabwe, he has found it no easier to find the jobs.

The Zimbabwe Connection started operations with the first family arriving in Australia in November 2002. However, the work load had become so great, that by the end of 2004 I could no longer continue. Reluctantly, as there did not appear to be anyone else who could take my place, we released the information that the organisation would be closing.

SUPPORT FROM THE GOVERNMENT: The South Australian Skilled Migration Department in the Premier’s Office recognized the success we had been having. After a huge amount of work and a mammoth submission from the Department's Danielle Kazantzis, and to our amazement and gratitude, they offered to host our database as a secure entry site hanging off their website – as long as their Regional Project Officers could have access to the cv information. This was no problem as far as ZCI was concerned and in fact, made our job-finding substantially easier. In addition, the Department had no concerns about our desire to expand the network Interstate, or for those States to access information.

FORMING THE NETWORK: I felt formation of the network would fulfil three objectives and spread the load sufficiently to give me enough time to start doing things properly – instead of the constant struggle just to keep everything going in the time available.

• it would mean there were families in the regions themselves to check out the local ‘bush telegraph’ about whether offers of employment were coming from those known to be good employers
• I would be able to establish the interstate networks - and I started to arrange trips interstate and gather expressions of interest from ex-Zimbabwean families who wanted to set up networks in their state.
• I would be able to set up public speaking engagements around rural Australia encouraging people to employ Zimbabweans.

CREATING THE DATABASE: In the next three months however, I had to take my eye off the making of connections, in order to work with the Department in creating a database with all its required fields and inter-connectivity. This was complex and time consuming to try and produce something which would work and which we could work from … and Matt Haney’s patience as the Department’s webmaster was sorely tried!

WRITING THE MANUALS: I also had to write and produce extensive training materials so that we could give ‘self-help’ manuals to all those who might become ‘mentors’. This I would not have been able to do without the positive and efficient help of Joanna Ferris – who despite her own early migration problems, generously and voluntarily gave up a day’s paid work each week to help me with Zimbabwe Connection.

FALLING BEHIND: Once the database was up and running and the training manuals were ready, we held a training workshop and each mentor was allocated ten families to help.

In that three months, however, I had been unable to spend the time I should have done on making connections. I was also unable to keep in touch or update the current situation of many of those who had sent in their cv’s. Unfortunately with the gap, several had lost heart, disappeared or moved on and this was discouraging for those trying to mentor them. Broadband was not yet available in most of the outlying regions, so mentors found they were unable to add cv’s and jobs to the database before their dial-up services disconnected. Hours of frustrating work were lost because they had not had time to “update” and therefore save the information.

As a result, we still had to do the bulk of the work in that we had to add information to the database centrally. In addition - once cv’s were passed on, I obviously lost oversight of progress … but those who sent cv’s to me in the first place, kept coming back to me for information - resulting in a lot of double handling.

I realized that two things were happening. My work load was not reducing as I had hoped and yet I was asking too much of willing ‘mentors’ who were themselves still raw from their own loss and trying to get over the trauma of migration. The battle to get their lives back on track left them with insufficient time to do much mentoring and due to insufficient training perhaps, they lacked the self-confidence to approach potential employers. The pittance we were able to reimburse them was also poor compensation for the costs they were incurring. Once our efficient Treasurer, Mike Chalk, became more determined to ask for ‘finder’s fees’, it seemed we might be able to maintain our cash flow. Sadly this was not the case.

It has been a lot of hard work and many people have ‘burnt out’ along the route. The bottom line is that over 300 families would not be in Australia and would have found it substantially more difficult to settle, were it not for some help from the Zimbabwe Connection. That is the primary difference we have been able to make.

 And there are others. People, mainly in country Australia, have realized what a positive contribution Zimbabweans make to their communities.

We have had extraordinary support from Australians and here I must mention Liz Penfold, Member for the Eyre Peninsula, Senator Alan Ferguson, Nic Kentish, Tom Brinkworth and that inexhaustible Linda Polomka from Mt Gambier – let alone the communities which have welcomed and cared for them.

We have been able to demonstrate that sponsored employment is a positive way to get in to Australia. Arriving here, knowing that within two weeks you will get your first pay cheque, is now recognized as a huge plus. Those who have migrated in their own right, highly skilled, qualified and of the right age, are the first to acknowledge how many agonizing months it took after their arrival before there was even the hint of a job offer. Also, although at the time it might seem hard work after the lives of comparative ease we lived in Zimbabwe, two years in employment gives us all time to adjust and understand Australia and the way it works. Time enough as the contract comes to an end, to then make an informed decision whether they will remain on a career path with their first employer or try to establish joint ventures or partnerships and get back on their own again.

We have also learned to empathise – not sympathise. For the latter results in the endless ‘whenwe’ repetition of lost and ever more highly coloured glories … and nobody moves on.

Are there things we could have done better? Of course – hindsight is a great highlighter of areas for improvement! But we certainly exceeded all initial expectations.

Overall however, we were simply a victim of our own success. We identified a situation requiring resolution, just as the most urgent need arose. Like many voluntary organisations, there was too much work to be done, by too few, to be as effective as we would have liked.

We can now bow out, knowing that there are hundreds more ex Zimbabweans in Australia who have all learned as much as we have and who can, in turn, act as ‘caring relatives and friends’ - to help their own relatives and friends gain legitimate entry and start a new life in Australia.

Jill Lambert