Community Ambassadors as crisis response

Seven years ago, Rock Idugboe and his mother fled their home in Nigeria.

After going through several countries to eventually find a home in Australia, Rock threw himself into community life. He has been a Rotary president, volunteered at the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre, and volunteered at Foodbank.

‘I’m passionate about it’, he says. ‘It’s my little way of contributing, of helping out.’

But when it came to pursuing his career after school, Rock realised there were major barriers in his way.

‘Right out of high school, I had no idea how the system worked. I saw all my friends enrolling in university, I thought that could be my option too. I didn’t know what HECS was. So I enrolled. I went to university for the first semester, but I had to leave when it was made clear to me that I couldn’t pay [the international student fees] for the course.’

As a resident on a Temporary Bridging Visa A, Rock did not have access to a Commonwealth supported place. But eventually he was accepted to study at UTS through the UTS Humanitarian Scholarship program.

Rock enrolled in a Bachelor in Civil Engineering degree, majoring in engineering construction in project management at the Faculty of Engineering and IT and the Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building. By 2020 Rock was on track to complete his degree the following year, he had secured a cadetship at a Sydney engineering firm and was working part-time as a security guard while finishing his studies. Things were looking good.

‘Well, COVID messed that one up a bit,’ he says.

‘Things went downhill very quickly. My workplace let go of their casuals, all fifteen of us. And suddenly I wasn’t earning any income. I wasn’t eligible for JobKeeper – as a refugee, my visa means I’m not eligible for any government support at all.

‘But I still had bills to pay. I still had rent. And I have younger siblings back in Nigeria, who my mum and I are still supporting. I had to take out loans, and suddenly I was in debt with no support. For a while there, it was very bad.’

His experience parallels that of many students who fund their studies with precarious work. Students are strongly represented in the hospitality industry and the casual workforce, and many are renting in the most expensive cities in Australia – all factors which compound the financial impact of COVID-19 and impacts their ability to continue study.

Mathushalini (Shali) Thevarasan, also a UTS student on the Humanitarian Scholarship, lost her work at a local gym when the COVID shutdown began. In fact, her whole family was affected: Her brother, living in Canberra, had his work close, and her father also lost income.

Although they have lived in Australia for seven years, all Shali’s family members are, like Rock and his mother, on bridging visas, which means not only no access to Commonwealth supported places, but also no COVID-19 government support.

‘We didn’t know what to do, it was such a hard time,’ says Shali. ‘I felt so blessed to be in Australia, and to study at UTS, but we had rent, bills, groceries, the basics you still have to pay for, even as COVID shut down everything else. I didn’t know how we were going to survive.’

Support for all students

In April UTS offered a COVID -19 financial support package to students, including interest-free loans, grants, and funds to buy the equipment necessary to study at home.

‘We were acutely aware that some students, those unable to access Federal Government support, needed more to get through this traumatic time,’ says Dianne Moy, Social Impact Lab Lead at the Centre for Social Justice and Inclusion.

While students were facing financial distress, community organisations were experiencing an increased need for more volunteers. UTS saw an opportunity to connect these groups in need through a new and innovative corporate volunteering program. Students identified by Student Services as eligible for additional financial support would be employed by UTS to assist community as corporate volunteers.

‘The students are employed and paid by the Centre for Social Justice and Inclusion to help us deliver on our public purpose and social justice agenda, by helping communities. It supports UTS as a good corporate citizen, using its resources to contribute to public good,’ says Dianne.

Crisis response infrastructure

The pilot, run in partnership with community organisations such as Foodbank, Oz Harvest and the Glebe Youth Service, will fund up to 75 students to work part-time for three months.

The goal is two-fold: first, to provide the financial support necessary for eligible students during COVID-19. And secondly, to demonstrate the viability of a corporate volunteer program as part of the UTS crisis response infrastructure.

‘With the summer bushfires both just behind us and just ahead, and COVID-19 still unfolding, there is a real focus on having schemes like this ready to roll out as needed. Infrastructure like this can be woven into our crisis response scenario to benefit our student or staff community while giving back to the organisations and communities that really need support in times of crisis,’ says Dianne.

‘Since March UTS has totally transformed our teaching – we’ve had to innovate, adapt and change. But as a public purpose institution we have also changed how we work in other areas, like our local community. Even as the higher education sector is facing its own challenges, it’s fantastic to see UTS supporting these initiatives.’

Shali and Rock have both been enjoying their work at Foodbank.

‘It’s such a good program, and a great environment. I know some of the older kids there, also from UTS, and they looked after me, showed me the ropes. I look forward to working there,’ says Shali.

‘It’s really been a lifeline for me and my family.’

For Rock, it’s bigger than just a workplace.

‘People don’t understand. A lot of people think well, you’re an asylum seeker, at least you made it into the country and you’re okay now. But for me to get my Medicare card renewed, I have to fight for it. For me to get a job, I must explain to the boss what my visas is, why I am eligible. It’s never easy.

‘UTS has contributed to my life big-time. Not just in education and exposure, but in so many other ways. Not every institution gives you that opportunity to share, to give back. As a refugee, UTS is a place where they give you an opportunity to work in different places. Being a refugee isn’t such a barrier here.

‘To people like me, like us, being supported like this is the dream. We appreciate it.’