MHAHS - Multicultural HIV and Hepatitis Service

A selection of Co-worker experiences from previous MHAHS News editions.

ZAINAB'S EXPERIENCE

What is your family story?
I came from Somalia, which is a 100% Muslim country. As a girl, I was circumcised and was a child bride at the age of 12 years. My religion allowed a girl to be a bride as soon as she had her menstrual period, but I have always been against it since I was a little.

I had my first child at the age of 13 and my 4th child by the age of 18. I was able to divorce my first husband eventually when my father passed away. It was a domestic violent relationship. I left Somalia alone because of the war and my children were in the care of my mother. I fled to Kenya where I met my second husband. He was from Indonesia and was working at the embassy in Kenya at the time. I went to Indonesia with him when I was pregnant and later had 2 children with him in Indonesia.

We lived with his family but there were many cultural differences. He and his family were mentally and verbally abusive towards me. I was able to make my way to Australia and ended up in Villawood Detention Centre in 1998 and claimed myself as a refugee. I was released from detention later that year. I was reunited with all my 6 children plus a grandchild and since then I have another 10 grandkids all living in Sydney.

What you do outside the MHAHS?

I am a full-time student at Ultimo TAFE working towards a Certificate IV in Community Services. I am also a self-employed interpreter and I speak 4 languages including Somali, English, Swahili, and Indonesian. Furthermore, I am a public speaker for the Positive Speaker Bureau at Positive Life NSW.

What made you join the MHAHS?

I joined MHAHS in 2010. Because of where I come from, religious beliefs and culture play a big part in HIV stigma and nobody wants to help people who are living with HIV. I see my work with MHAHS as an opportunity to help people from the same background as me and raising awareness about HIV and viral hepatitis.

What are your impressions of the service?

It is a great service which focuses on peoples’ well-being and the community. Without MHAHS, the community might not be educated about HIV and viral hepatitis and people would not know much about the viruses. Lastly MHAHS is about inclusion and valuing diversity.

What do you think of the training provided by MHAHS?

Without the training we as co-workers would not be able to provide support for clients. I feel grateful for the training MHAHS has provided, as every training is a about gaining knowledge and skills. I have made a lot of friends from training sessions, they love Zainab’s story! I feel I am influential for some of my friends. The staff at MHAHS are very supportive and helpful and make me feel comfortable to be part of the organisation.

What activities have you carried out for the MHAHS so far?

Community education session with school children about hepatitis; African community festivals where I gave people information about HIV and viral hepatitis including condoms and calendars; the African Women’s Dinner Dance which also included giving away condoms and calendars; translating flyers; photo shoots for campaigns and calendars; and attending training and meetings.

What do you see are the challenges/rewards as a co-worker?

A fear of being unable to help a client and not knowing how. I have also helped people of the same culture outside of the organisation by giving them information. I have also worked as a volunteer, and feel that it is rewarding when I can help them.

Do you have any other comments/reflections?
I’m very grateful that I work for MHAHS particularly the support I get from other staff, and the education opportunities. I would love to work with a client one day, because I have a lot of knowledge and feel I am very good at supporting people, especially empowering them.

 ROCIO'S EXPERIENCE

Where do you come from? What is your family story?
I came from Peru. My father was a school teacher and my mother was a nurse. Both are now retired. I moved to Australia 8 years ago.

What do you do outside the MHAHS?
I’m an accountant. I work for the University of Sydney, based at the Royal North Shore Hospital. I am part of the team which assists the medical school.

What made you join the MHAHS?
I found out about MHAHS while I was studying at TAFE to become an interpreter. My teacher let us know about an opportunity available at MHAHS. The agency was looking for co-workers with language skills and having that under my belt, I decided to apply. At that time, I had a basic knowledge about MHAHS and its role in the community.

What are your impressions of the service?
The service is rewarding. It gives a chance to people who suffer from HIV and hepatitis to reconnect with the community, to seek assistance and not isolate themselves. The education role that MHAHS plays is pivotal; it educates the community about these diseases and to be aware of their progression and new benefits that may arise from drugs and government initiatives. Unfortunately, not having enough information could turn people towards discrimination. In Peru, the majority of people are religious and conservative. That’s why many people could easily be discriminated against. MHAHS’ service helps people to understand, be aware, and not live in fear.

What do you think of the training provided by MHAHS?
I think it’s important, but not enough. It’s important for co-workers to have regular training in order to be aware about services that are available to clients. The supervision nights are great for discussion with fellow co-workers. To me, when a co-worker reports the progression of their client and what they did to assist, that is gold, especially for those like me who are relatively new.

What activities have you carried out for the MHAHS so far?
I’ve done a bit of everything. I started with media promotion with Sonam. I went to a radio station twice for campaigns related to HIV, basically to help raise awareness among the Spanish speaking community. I’ve done some translation of documents for Marina. I also did a bit of clinical work with a client for a short period of time.

Tell me more about your client work?
I worked with a female client. Her husband was infected with HIV but she wasn’t. She needed emotional support at the time. Originally they wanted to have a baby, but later the idea took second place when they became fully involved in a personal venture.

What do you get from supervision?
I think supervision is very important and critical, especially when you face a problem. Supervisors give you ideas about what to do. I listened to conversations with other co-workers and they mentioned many issues with their clients like housing or financial difficulties. I really appreciated having Donatella and Effie with me, especially when I was new to the service.

What do you see are the challenges/rewards as a co-worker?
To me the challenge is communication, because you have to connect with your client and if your client doesn’t open up to you, you won’t be able to know what they really need. For the rewarding part, the job gives you an opportunity to help people who are suffering. It’s really fulfilling as a human being.

Any other comments/reflections?
MHAHS is important for the community. I really like the idea that the government is assisting people; not only providing assistance towards medicines but also re-connecting people back to the community. Unfortunately, not many countries have the level of support or similar organisations to MHAHS. I’m really glad to be a part of MHAHS!

 KIM'S EXPERIENCE

 “Chào các bạn!” My name is Kim Trang and I am from Vietnam.
I came to Australia at the age of 21 after staying in a Malaysian camp for a short period of time in 1983.
I have been married to my husband since 1987 and have three children aged 27, 22 and 15 and they are all still at home.
My first job in Australia was in the factory for two years. I then got a job at the bank and worked part-time with the industry for 13 years. I also worked part-time in the education system as a Community Liaison Officer and Teacher’s Aide for over 12 years. During my work at the school I also studied at university and gained two degrees: Bachelor of Arts and MT of Early Childhood.
I currently work part-time with the Multicultural HIV and Hepatitis Service and the Smith Family store.
I joined the MHAHS in 2015 and believe that I can transfer my understanding and knowledge about HIV and Hepatitis diseases to people in my Vietnamese community. I speak, read and write fluently in Vietnamese. This gave me a high confidence to apply and join the MHAHS team.
I was amazed to see and hear about the work that our service has done so far in contributing to the wellbeing of people living with HIV and Hepatitis C. Our service also provides support and training to all the co-workers in professional and ethical manners.
The ongoing training provided by the MHAHS give me more and more knowledge about HIV and Hepatitis that continues to improve and change through time. I am more aware of how important these issues can be detected, prevented and treated. I have gained wonderful experience, learnt so much and will keep on learning.
The activities that I have carried out for the MHAHS includes translating resources for the media campaign in Vietnamese language; I joined the health promotion and media training; I worked as a clinical co-worker and currently hold a position as Vietnamese Community Development Project Officer for hepatitis B.
Recently, I have a client who is living with HIV and she came from Vietnam. I attend regular individual supervision and group supervision meetings. My supervisor has helped create a plan to assist the client and my senior project officer has given me great support in organizing workshops and connecting with wider community.
For me, the challenge that I am facing as a co-worker is how to fulfill my role in different tasks. My reward is that I feel I belong to the organisation that looks after the wellbeing of people in a caring and supporting ways.
I really enjoy the work here because it helps me to maintain and develop my skills. I feel proud and happy that I can contribute to health and well of people particularly to my Vietnamese community