By Kriti Chand Rajbar, Trinity College Student
SisterWorks is a Melbourne-based social enterprise that works to “support women who are refugees, asylum seekers or migrants to improve their confidence, mental well-being, sense of belonging and economic outlook.” You can buy gift hampers, locally made food and homeware made by these refugee women from their online shop https://sisterworks.org.au/shop/.
SisterWorks provide women with opportunities to connect with each other and form communities, while also teaching them new skills and showing them that they “can add value and earn money, despite the barriers they have faced in gaining employment.”
To learn more, I spoke to Maria Chindris, the Community Relations Lead at SisterWorks.
How many refugees does SisterWorks currently help?
SisterWorks has supported between 800-1000 refugee, asylum seeker and migrant women since our establishment in 2013. There are approximately 200 women active in our programs.
Why is what SisterWorks does important?
Women with migrant, asylum seeker or refugee backgrounds are some of the community’s most vulnerable newcomers. Some face social isolation, domestic violence, long-term unemployment and dependence on government welfare. SisterWorks supports women to support themselves. We are grounded in the belief that Work Empowers Women. We support migrant women to break out of the cycle of disadvantage by empowering them to pursue pathways into economic participation and educational opportunities. And in many cases SisterWorks is the first place in Australia that has ever given them an opportunity.
How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted SisterWorks?
The pandemic had a large impact on our programs. Prior to 2020, our programs were all conducted face to face in our Richmond and Bendigo Hubs. When COVID-19 lockdown was enforced, our Sisters were obliged to stay home, thus our face-to-face classes became inaccessible. Our team adapted our classes to produce an online model. Our classes were conducted over Zoom, with materials and resources sent to our Sister’s homes.
Our SisterWorks shop produces SisterWorks label products, all handmade by our Sisters. Non-essential production was suspended during 2020, so we had to stop production. Our Social Enterprise team developed a line of reusable face masks and this became our only source of production during lockdown. We received amazing support from our community which allowed our doors to stay open during 2020.
Now that lockdown is over, we have been able to recommence our face-to-face programs. But we still offer them online to women that can’t attend classes in person. We now offer this blended model of learning which is expanding the accessibility of our programs.
How can students get involved?
We have a volunteer program where you can give your team and help. You can email your interest to volunteers@sisterworks.org.au.
Shop with us at 296 Bridge Rd, Richmond, 3121, or online via our website www.sisterworks.org.au
Follow our socials, we’re on Instagram and Facebook @sisterworks_inc