Philanthropy

When the curtains of her childhood went up, Juana Martinez witnessed the loss of many lives during the revolution in her home country. The revolution stole her childhood, touched the courant of her love for humanity and cemented her career path in Community development sector forever. Her undying passion to assist people has neither time nor boundaries.

JUANA… A GLOBAL WOMAN

A very global woman whose heart exudes generosity, open mindedness, and passion to assist the most vulnerable people in communities, Juana is one of her kind! Travelling enriches her perceptions and she embraces all humankind with an open heart. In addition to the countries listed above, Juana has travelled extensively. She has been almost throughout Northern, Southern and Central America, including Bolivia, Venezuela, El-Salvador, and Costa-Rica and speaks Spanish, English, Vietnamese, Russian and Portuguese.

Between the age of 14 and 15 Juana lived through the revolution in Costa Rica. ‘I saw a lot of my friends and other people I knew being killed.’ That really shaped the way Juana sees life and was her ground-breaking moment into the career path of Community Development. Juana supported people by identifying bodies of their family members. She also actively participated in the renowned ‘National Literacy campaign’ in Nicaragua which was implemented in 1980. She was one of the kids who went to the mountains teaching people how to read and write through a National project in Nicaragua which decreased the illiteracy level from 52% to 20%. ‘That was a two-way education because while we taught peasants how to read and write, I was also learning how to milk the cows, to make cheese and tortilla by hands. It changed my life.’ Despite coming from a humble background, Juana’s life was relatively better than other children living in remote areas of the country. Although her parents were from a working class, Juana had a privileged life. She had education and a meal every day. ‘My parents worked extremely hard. My father had a horse and a cart and transported people from one area to another. My mother worked with her family who owned a catering business.’

Juana was studying nursing while waiting to go to Russia to study medicine. Then, the government launched a national health project to eradicate polio. Juana got involved in the project and trained on how to administer a vaccine against polio. She went to a village all alone and, being only a 16–17- year-old, was terrified. Determined to help change the lives of people, Juana kept praying for the project to go well.

When Juana first came to Australia from Nicaragua, she and her husband helped coordinate the Latin American & Nicaragua Solidarity community for 10 years. They raised funds by selling coffee and used the money to fund women’s organisations in Nicaragua, Mexico, El-Salvador, and Guatemala. They helped women in Nicaragua to build Corn’s mill as corn is one the staple food in Nicaragua. They also bought some gum boots for children living in remote areas in Nicaragua.

Juana remembered how hard it was for her to settle in Australia with a young family. ‘When you don’t have the language and support of your family in terms of childcare, it can be a bit difficult.’ Originally from Managua in Nicaragua, Juana arrived in Australia 26 years ago with her husband and their three little children. She interrupted her English course because her little one, who was only 2 to 3 months old at the time was ‘crying a lot’. Unlike in Nicaragua where her mother looked after her children when she worked, in Australia she did not have any of that. Her mother-in law helped her with childcare when they were living in Canberra for a short time.

VERY HAPPY TO JOIN THE WORKFORCE.

‘Your Accent, We Don’t Understand’

When her little one turned one, Juana decided that it was time for her to try and find work. In the past, she worked for many years as a meteorologist and a Spanish-Russian Translator in her home country. Her husband saw an ad in the paper about childcare position and encouraged her to apply. ‘To be honest I did not know how I went during the interview because my English was about 4/10 but miraculously, I got the job!’ She spent so many hours commuting because she did not learn how to drive. ‘If I did it, anyone can do it’, she says confidently. Eventually, around 1997 Juana started work placement in a childcare centre. She took her friend’s suggestion that reading children’s books is one of the best ways to learn English faster and better. Juana put that advice to practise but she encountered difficulties with children not being able to understand her. ‘Your accent, we don’t understand’, children would say to her. Juana would read again and again to the children but very slowly and clearly this time. With time she got better while the children were also able to understand her as well. ‘I was in the workforce, earning some money and made some friends. I felt empowered, not that we struggled financially, I was lucky because my husband had a good job, but I was so happy to be working’. Juana worked in childcare for about three years.

‘I did not know what the word bully means. It was the first time I came across that word’

Juana got a part time job as an interpreter in a hospital in Melbourne. That was a break-through for her as she felt that the hospital was very professional. She would leave her child in childcare next to the train station while the other two were at school. That job did not last long because she thought she was the only one who was from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) background. ‘I was subjected to bullying by some women for the first time in my life. I did not know what the word bully meant because it was the first time, I came across that word.’ Juana did not know how to respond, let alone what to do about it. ‘ Many migrants have no knowledge of their rights in the workplace, let alone where to report bullying. I used to come home crying, ‘Juana decided to leave the Hospital but promised herself that she will never let anyone treats her like that anymore. Bullying in a workplace destroys your self- esteem and damages your wellbeing’.

IN VIETNAM…

Juana enrolled in a master’s degree in Social Work at Latrobe University but did not complete the course as her husband who worked as the director of Australia Volunteer Abroad got a job in Hanoi, Vietnam where they lived for two years. With a reference letter from Latrobe Uni, Juana worked as a volunteer, training teachers in Community Development (CD). The project delivers training on Drug & Alcohol programs for the youth. ‘It was very empowering as CD is my passion’.

‘We did a particularly good job in saving many women and children’s lives’.

BACK TO MELBOURNE …

Upon returning to Melbourne, I got a job with the Women Domestic Violence Crisis Services (WDVCS), the now SafeSteps, a state-wide organisation that assists women and children escaping family violence and to live safe and free as members of our society. ‘That was a big school for me. At that time family violence was like a taboo, unspoken evil that no one talked about it.’

Despite having limited resources, the team she worked with, was very dedicated to change the world and they were lucky to have a director who was also very passionate about eradicating family violence. ‘I really learnt a lot! We did a particularly good job of saving many women’s and children’s lives.’ Seven years after, Juana decided that it was time to leave WDVCS, to start decompressing from Family Violence work. ‘You get accumulative stress when working in the sector and that can burn you out,’ she said.

From there, Juana got a job with Family Relationship Australia where she worked for year as a mediator. Working within a team of psychologists, psychotherapists, social workers as well as working with perpetrators trying to minimise the impact of violence in a different setting away from the court. ‘We helped women identifying risks and not attending court when it is risky.’ Juana believes that campaigns for violence against women should be ongoing alongside other behavioural programs to educate men.

IN GERMANY…

‘Once again I found my passion’

Juana’s work with Family Relationship Australia had again come to a stop as her husband got a job in Germany. In Germany she worked in a voluntary capacity for the United Nations (UN). She provided online support to some UN projects in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The online volunteer is a global organisation providing skills and expertise to communities in remote areas of developing countries. For instance, there was a community in a very remote area in Africa that wanted to build mud houses with building materials at their hands. International volunteers, such as architects, provided a building plan to build functional and sustainable mud houses. Volunteers and translators were also used to facilitate better communication. ‘That was very empowering for communities in need and once again I found my passion’.

IN MYANMAR…

‘I thought, this is a very good organisation but there is no structure’

When returning to Australia, her husband got a job in Myanmar. Juana said it was very scary to live there because the military was in power then. With an undying passion for community development work, Juana worked as a Volunteer at ‘Akahya’, a women’s organisation in Yangon. Akahya’s mission to support women, victims and survivors of rapes, abuses and of any other forms of assault as these women had nowhere to get support. ‘I thought, this is a very good organisation but there is no structure!’ With help from her friend from Nicaragua, who she met whilst in Yangon, they worked on the policy and the risk assessment tool and implemented new processes. They did the same work for the refugees that were being set up there. Juana also learnt to make jewellery in Yangon, and this has now become her hobby.

BACK AGAIN TO AUSTRALIA

‘Empathy cannot be taught, you either got it or not’

Upon returning to Australia last year from Myanmar, Juana got a job at the Melbourne Polytechnics. She has been teaching Community Development and enjoys it a lot. She is convinced that she has now got an opportunity to teach people about reflective practices on their attitudes, behaviour, and their interaction with clients. ‘How you think about people will drive how you interact with clients.’ In class, Juana stresses to students that it is especially important for all CD’s workers to be aware that they are working with the most vulnerable members of our society, so a non-judgemental approach is required to attain goals objectively. ‘You are not going to be rich when you work in this sector, it is about assisting people.’ Juana believes that ‘Empathy cannot be taught, you either got it or not!’ She believes that CD work is not about ‘helping’ it is about ‘assisting’ the client, who is the driver, and the CD worker is like a GPS providing clients with valuable information to make informed decisions that enhance their welfare.

For Juana, family violence is a preventable epidemy and she sees a lot of gaps within the new model and structure set to combat family violence. ‘Targeting root causes of family violence is the best way to eradicate family violence rather than putting some band aid on a wound that can start bleeding any moment.’

LOOKING AT THE HORIZON…

‘This is a gap that I find within the Family Violence sector’

Juana has not hung up her boots yet in assisting women. Her deep understanding and extensive knowledge that family violence is an epidemy that has been ravaging women’s lives since time immemorial and does have damaging impacts on children and many generations to come, drives Juana to want to set up a ‘hub’. This hub that she has been dreaming about, would be an organisation supporting women following the aftermath of Family Violence crisis’. The hub will help women regain their self-trust and confidence in themselves and may prevent them from going back to the crisis and toxic environment. ‘This is a gap that I find within the Family Violence sector.’ Juana finds that after a woman has been supported by Family Violence agencies and the judiciary system there are not many services available to continue supporting them. A woman is left cut and dry and not able to decompress properly from a family violence crisis and in most cases, where she has been subjected for years to family violence. Society expects women to be cured from the epidemy of family violence once she finds safety or once an intervention order has been put in place. Juana believes that is just the beginning of her journey. There is also emotional and psychological safety that needs to be cared for. Women need a place to share a cup of coffee and to be able talk to other women about their journey. In her hub, Juana hopes to teach women some complementary skills that they can use as hobbies while weaving supportive relationships with one another. Juana said that all she needs is a place and dedicated women with their gum boots on, who are willing to work with her.