Profession

IT Project Management

Reason For Volunteering

I was born overseas and I have actively chosen to live here in Australia. On a trip to Southern Africa in 2000, and in particular en route to Stollenbosch, a wine growing area just outside Cape Town; I was appalled to see the slums and ghettos. These camps were adjacent to the modern highway to the hills. What a shocking contrast. On my return to Australia, I realised that although Australia did not have such extreme spectrums it did have a number of social issues. I wanted to do something about the third world issues that exist in a first world country, the very country where I have chosen to live. I work for Westpac Banking Corporation and one day I noticed the Westpac Secondment programme operational in Cape York. This grabbed my attention and after further reading I knew I wanted to participate. The rest is history, as they say.

What I got out of it personally/professionally

My secondment to Every Child Is Special (ECIS) has given me one of the most rewarding periods of my life, to date. I am now better informed about the issues that face and challenge indigenous communities in Cape York. I've learnt that the issues are complex and the solutions are not simple. As the ECIS Project Manager, I learnt that all the planning in the world cannot accommodate unpredictable human behaviour, bureaucracy and lack of funding and resources. It is imperative to focus on achieving the outcomes. Support operations taken for granted in a corporate environment simply may not exist in financially strapped Non Government Organisations. Subsequently, I learnt to roll up my sleeves and get stuck in in order to achieve. The committed dedication of a few individuals to ECIS will remain with me forever, as will the friendships of the people from Coen and Cape York Partnerships.

What I felt I contributed

I sometimes questioned what skills an IT Project Manager could provide to ECIS as it is an education reform project and not an IT one. The challenges were many, the lows were often and the highs were few. With the tireless efforts and guidance from the Project Director, Bernardine Denigan; I feel I was able to add structure to the project, maintain a core team, assist in managing the coming and going of volunteers and Westpac secondees and manage effective relationships with the project's key partners. The core team all participated in defining and redefining the ECIS model in it's trial phase which will carry on into subsequent years. Despite the many difficulties, together we ensured the delivery of training to the indigenous tutors. With the concerted efforts from the tutors, it was a great moment when certificates were presented to the tutors that had completed their training.