Indigenous Community Volunteers

Jarlmadangah - still going strong three years on.

Very rarely does the decision to volunteer with ICV only affect the person or people with whom you will be directly sharing your skills. It’s not possible to know at the outset just how far reaching the impact will be - you’ll often be surprised by the number of doors it may open. Opportunities for unforseen benefits are constantly arising as has been the case in the story of Jega Sandraskeram, Lesley Butt and Joe Grande

Joe is a busy man in a busy community. The community is Jarlmadangah and Joe is the accountant/coordinator for a number of projects including the local store, the CDP program, a tourism business, the school, the health clinic and the town’s municipal services. In 2003 Joe approached ICV for some assistance to train staff in day to day running of the store. This was one of ICV’s earliest projects and 3 years on, the results speak for themselves.

The store is well stocked and now runs at a small profit which is continually being reinvested to further its development. Lesley Butt, formerly employed by the local school, has been running the store ever since ICV volunteer Jega Sandrasekaram visited back in 2003. Prior to working with Jega, Lesley had no retail experience and had never used a computer. Joe, being so active himself was unable to devote the time to provide Lesley with necessary one on one training.

Jega and Lesley were able to sit together and work through the different computer programs until Lesley felt comfortable. Lesley speaks highly of Jega’s communication skills and his willingness to listen and respond accordingly.

In addition to gaining computer skills Lesley also gained valuable insight into stocktaking, banking procedures and how to maximise shelf life of products. Now Lesley trains others. Her daughter Cescily has been working under her guidance for some time and Lesley has also over seen participants from Jarlmadangah High’s work experience program. Lesley has been able to use her skills to help broaden the horizons of future generations!

Added to that her, personal confidence has increased so much since the skills transfer project that she is now called upon by the community to sit on representative boards. The community itself has benefited too. With the nearest Woolworths being over 126ks away, having a well stocked store they can depend on means that Jarlmadangah’s 100 or so residents no longer have to travel such great distances for basic supplies.

Alleviating poverty and destitution through community driven programs is the ethos that is driving Jarlmadangah forward. By involving an ICV Volunteer they were able to remove the geographical obstacle of access to training and they have ensured that jobs in the community were taken by community persons and that the skills remained in the community to be shared.

The benefits aren’t just limited to the community either. Highly rewarded by his first experience, Jega has since undertaken a further eight projects with ICV! His experience with ICV has led him to relocate from Canberra to the Northern Territory where he is now employed as a Housing Manager Yuendumu community government council in Alice Springs. Something he never would have envisaged just three years ago.

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