In this episode of the Invisible Woman podcast, we speak with three women from Sisterworks, a not-for-profit that works with migrant, refugee, and asylum-seeker women to help them become economically empowered. This is part 1 of our conversation with Shivani Bibhuti, Pamela Mujica, and Belen Maure from Sisterworks.
You can find out more about Sisterworks at https://sisterworks.org.au/
The Invisible Woman project, funded by our social enterprise's impact program, promotes awareness and actions for women and gender-diverse people, to age with dignity, security, and safety. Find out more on justgoldwomen.net or on our socials @justgoldwomen.
Hosted by Voula Stamatakis
Edited and produced by Carley Bishop
This is a Just Gold podcast.
[00:00:00] Carley Bishop: This is a just gold podcast.
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[00:00:02] Carley Bishop: Captured on the lands of the peoples of the east Eastern Kulin nation. We pay our respects to their elders past, present and emerging.
[00:00:25] In this episode of the Invisible Woman podcast, we speak with women from Melbourne social enterprise Sisterworks. This episode will be broken into two parts. This is part one.
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[00:00:39] Voula Stamatakis: In this podcast today, we are hosting Sister Works, which is a nonprofit enterprise based in Melbourne. From Sister Works we have Shivani uti, and Stephanie Theo, as well as the two ladies who are working with Sister Works and have been help from Sister Works, which is Pamela Mojica and Belen Maure.
[00:01:06] Pamela Mujica: Yeah,
[00:01:06] Voula Stamatakis: thank you for coming. We're going to discuss about the Invisible Woman Syndrome, but first of all, I would like to ask Shivani, what does SISTERWORKS, what does it what does it do, and when was it established?
[00:01:21] Shivani Bibhuti: As you mentioned before, Vola our company is a non for profit social enterprise. Our mission is to help and support, empower and support women from migrant, refugee and asylum seeking backgrounds. We provide them multiple training programs.
[00:01:36] We try empowering them with our work and entrepreneurship programs. And these women here are the examples of our programs, how we're established and How benefiting it is for women from all cultural backgrounds, all age groups coming back to the point of women above 50 year old. Our sister works, sisters belong to all the age groups.
[00:01:57] Starting from a teenager girl who just migrated to Australia for our hospitality course and any kind of course to women from all age groups.
[00:02:07] Voula Stamatakis: Okay, so when a girl, woman comes to you, what does she have to do? She just. comes to you or applies? Does she have to pay something?
[00:02:17] Shivani Bibhuti: No. All our programs are free of cost.
[00:02:19] So women they just have to knock at our doors, one of our team members greets them. There are, there's a designated program team who they get in touch with. Our team helps them fill up a form, become a part of the SisterWorks family, and join our programs. And either they have a preference of which program.
[00:02:37] We have multiple programs which include hospitality, warehousing sewing and crochet, and small business for entrepreneurship. So either they have a preference of which program they want to join, and if they don't have a clue, then we guide them on which program would be suitable for them. And that's how they end up in one of the programs.
[00:02:57] And once they graduate, we help, our employment team helps them secure a job. Our own social enterprise help them get the first step in the job business. So we have a SisterWorks brand. Which is developed in-house. So many of, we employ some of our sisters in-house in manufacturing, some of the sisters in the shop.
[00:03:18] We have a retail shop specifically built for them, shop and cafe. So we employ our warehousing and sewing and entrepreneurship sisters. So a lot of our entrepre sisters they develop their products and we sell them in our shop and our online shop, including some products from Pamela.
[00:03:37] Voula Stamatakis: It sounds amazing, quite interesting.
[00:03:40] So do you have any a number of how many women you have helped till today from 2013?
[00:03:46] Shivani Bibhuti: Approximately, yeah. I'm glad you asked this, we actually have this month we mark our 10 year anniversary. Oh, congratulations. Thank you. We were established in 2013 and in 20, 23 May we just completed 10 years and in 10 years we have helped 2, 000 women.
[00:04:06] from 109 countries if I'm not wrong.
[00:04:08] Voula Stamatakis: Amazing. Well done. Really good. Thank you Shivani. Can Pamela tell me her story? How did you meet Sister Wes? Or how did you end going to the organization?
[00:04:21] Pamela Mujica: Yes, of course. My story is a long story. Back in 1996 when we, together with my husband, came to Australia. Just with the idea of starting a new life here, but only was going to be five years. Of course not. Had a limit. It was not five years, turned out to be much more. We have two kids we work, all of us was living a good thing, good life, but in 2005 we decided to go and return to our country, Chile.
[00:04:57] For good, to everyone, my husband and myself, we had a family there, so that was the idea, to go back, but unfortunately in 2010, we had the major earthquake, and so it took us it was the decision, really, either to go, to stay there in Chile or come back. We decided to come back and the beginning was Sydney when we lived there for almost nine years and then the second time we thought, it's a new life, a new beginning, so we decided to come to Melbourne.
[00:05:36] And that was the surprise because at that time I was 44 when I was, I got pregnant. And All my life I work I was working in a winery as a wine educator, I was actually working in an office work, et cetera, and suddenly I was with a baby, and my other two kids were at school, my husband working, and I was isolated at home actually, I was doing, Nothing, in a way.
[00:06:09] It's yes, I was a wife, a housewife, and I'm cleaning, and... You felt that. This expectation was not the right one. It was, yes, of course, I adore my girl, but I felt that I needed the other part. I, through other sisters someone told me, oh, there's a, this organization that...
[00:06:30] Supports women to, but I actually started in Sisterworks with the idea of meeting other women. That was my idea, to go and talk to other women because, the social connection exactly. And, but it was, actually, it was the start. I discovered this technique called Punto Peruano, Peruvian Stitch.
[00:06:53] I started making jewelry. I started actually selling through markets with the help of SisterWorks. Then I got mentors and I did courses, business course. And now my jewelry sells in some shops, either here in Melbourne, Sydney, and now in Chile. So, little by little, um, I started to, to open, um,
[00:07:22] my own jewelry shop. A vision or a possibility that I never was there. I never in my life...
[00:07:29] Voula Stamatakis: Just having a coffee to being a businesswoman.
[00:07:32] Pamela Mujica: Yeah, I never in my life thought that I was going to be a businesswoman, to tell you the truth.
[00:07:36] Voula Stamatakis: Congratulations, well done. Belen, do you want to tell us your story? Yes. How you met Sisterworks?
[00:07:42] Belen Maure: I came here to Australia 2014 because our children were here ahead of us. So me and my husband is left in Philippines. So when our visa came out, we came me and my husband, yeah. And then when I come to Australia, I struggle because, I don't have friends. So our neighbors Doors are closed.
[00:08:05] So what I did is I went to the community center and then looked for some organization. So I find, I found the Asian cultural group. I said, oh, because I'm Asian, oh, I can join this. But it didn't last long because, some of the members are not. It's speaking quite English, so I think, oh, maybe this is not for me.
[00:08:28] So when the Volunteering Expo was held in I saw the Volunteering Expo schedule, so me and my husband joined the Volunteering Expo. That's the start that paved the way that I can go into organizations, I can join the literature program sponsored by the Council because, if you don't know somebody, you cannot really get into it, to the organization, or to the Training.
[00:08:56] So from that start, then I expand my network. I volunteer for the Kitchen. That's a co related work experience. My God has other plans for me. And then I joined also a small business group actually, introduced me to SisterWorks when they said that all sewing enthusiasts may go to SisterWorks for employment, for work. So me and my husband me to travel. Yeah, when we get to SisterWorks, but when we get to SisterWorks, I love it because they are very welcoming, and I really felt the sense of belonging, that's the start.
[00:09:35] And I'm so happy that the first project that I had is doing the bags of the city of Melbourne. Yeah? They turned their big banners into shopping bags. So I was one of the pioneer, and actually SisterWorks is a runner up. Runner up for the award sustainable sustainability award, that's the start, and then comes the lockdown.
[00:09:59] But because the September 19th to 2019, that's, I joined Sister Works and then comes the lockdown February. Oh, I really love that. I was able to join Sister Works because every day I have my online classes. I never get some problems about isolation, yeah? Scissorworks sent me some materials to do my project, like stitching, crochet.
[00:10:24] Doing some bags, and also I earn money because we made a lot of face masks. And then, I love SisterWorks because it brings out the best in me. As my age, as my age, I'm 71 and going on 72. I think I'm the eldest, the most senior in SisterWorks. But, SisterWorks really accept you as a family.
[00:10:45] And, I had my trainings, everything that I know, and doing a small business course. And actually our teacher in sewing said that you can start your social enterprise with SisterWorks. You can use fabrics donated from SisterWorks and then you can use the machiners. That's why me, I, with a group of five, with elderly of 50 and above we are doing that now.
[00:11:10] Now this this month and we're doing that now. And, I love, really, I, SisterWorks really changes my life. Now I'm teaching beginner sewing classes, yeah, for the mobile hub. So I'm so happy that, coming to Australia, a foreign country, and I was able to really bring out the best in me through SisterWorks.
[00:11:35] Carley Bishop: The invisible woman project funded by our social enterprises impact program promotes awareness and actions for women and gender diverse people. To age with dignity, security, and safety. Find out more on justgoldwomen.net or on our socials justgoldwomen