Leaving Diaspora Action Australia

DAA Donor Drive "thank you" messages; photo: Dinesh Liyanage

Today was my last day of work at Diaspora Action Australia. It's been an amazing and rewarding three and a half years. A couple of weeks ago I was interviewed by one of our writers, Amy Rashap (photo below right), and the piece below is hers. It will be published on the DAA website in the near future. Interspersed photos (photographer: Nick Chiarizia) are just a few of the wonderful people I've been working with during my time at DAA.

Amy Rashap. Photo: Nick Chiarizia

Nicky Reiss: Nothing is Permanent (but the important things remain the same)

Nicky Reiss is usually the first person any Diaspora Action Australia (DAA) volunteer will meet. Her green eyes look at you searchingly, yet her face is friendly and open. Once you start speaking with her, she makes it clear that she is listening—really listening—to you. This combination of cool-headed analysis and friendly intuition are just two of the reasons why she has been such an asset as volunteer coordinator for DAA. There is an even greater number of reasons why we are all very sad to see her go.

Nicky comes from a cosmopolitan family that exposed her to global issues. Her father was born in Germany, but was raised in the U.K. Nicky’s mother, a U.S. citizen, met her future husband while both were students in the U.S. As the owner of a wool business, Nicky’s father often entertained international visitors at home. She also became interested in international affairs due to her paternal grandmother, Franziska Simonis. Born in Germany in 1899 into a Jewish family, Franziska and some family members were able to escape to the U.K., avoiding internment in concentration camps. After WWII, Franziska worked as a volunteer in the British Council for Aid to Refugees (now called the Refugee Council). ‘She helped refugees settle in the U.K.,’ Nicky recounts. ‘Hearing about this experience had a huge effect on me—I think it’s one of the reasons why I chose a career path involving travel and working with people around the world.’

Travel? She’s done it. After university (where she spent time in both Austria and France), Nicky’s wanderlust took her to Indonesia for two years, as a VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas) volunteer. While she had wanted to be placed in China, the VSO decided Indonesia was the place for her. ‘I had visited a friend in Indonesia for a week,’ Nicky laughs, ‘and when the VSO asked if I had any experience in that country, I said, “Yes, I have been in Indonesia for seven days,” and that was enough for them.’

Nicky has lived in the UK, Australia, the US (including Hawaii), Austria, France, Indonesia, Malta, New Zealand, Timor Leste, DR Congo, and Rwanda. She has worked for universities, INGOs, and on the UN mission in East Timor (UNTAET).

 Then, Nicky’s life took an unexpected twist. ‘On 26 December 2005 I woke up; I was in Rwanda, and just was not well,’ Nicky narrates. Suffering from debilitating exhaustion, plus noise and food sensitivities, she spent the next eight years trying to get a handle on her complex disease. After numerous misdiagnoses (including myalgic encephalomyelitis, aka ’chronic fatigue syndrome’), she came to live with her family in Melbourne. ‘I thought I would never be able to work again,’ she recollects. ‘And once you’re diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, that’s it: most doctors just give up on you.’

If you look up Nicky on Google, you will see that she is a tireless blogger and tweeter. ‘I began doing online advocacy because of my illness,’ she said. ‘I was constantly doing research on the internet. I began contacting people with the same symptoms as me on Facebook. We are all given this wastebasket diagnosis; we knew research had to be done, and no one was doing it.’ As a result of these efforts she firmly believes in the value of social media. ‘For people with disabilities, Facebook is a lifesaver. We created networks and a wonderfully supportive environment. Through Facebook I learned about advocacy and it was something that helped me get this job at DAA.’

(Nicky finally found a good doctor in Melbourne, and avows that her health is now 85 to 90% restored.)

Being volunteer coordinator at DAA is the first job Nicky has held since 2008, and the organisation has been lucky to have her for more than three and a half years. ‘What have I loved about this job? The volunteers,’ Nicky states immediately. ‘I get to meet interesting, amazing people, especially young people, full of energy and enthusiasm. We’ve had volunteers from Africa, the Middle East, Europe, the Americas, as well as Australia—and I’ve learnt so much from each of them. It’s especially exciting to see what each person can contribute to DAA.’ Nicky proudly relates that several DAA volunteers have parleyed their skills into careers in international development, finding placements in Oxfam and Plan International.

Nicky is especially proud of having developed the DAA communications team from a unit of one individual to a group of writers, web editors, photographers, social media specialists, and graphic designers. She is also pleased with how DAA itself has matured: the organisation developed a new strategic plan in late 2012, and following on from that a communications plan, an income generation plan, an operational plan and a program logic model.

 ‘I also believe in this organisation’s mission: to support diaspora community initiatives; provide resources, information and training; facilitate dialogue and shared learning,’ she observes. Nicky narrates several examples of well-meaning Western organisations who have attempted to effect change in developing countries without having a solid grasp of the local scene. ‘So often, these great-sounding projects just disintegrate because there is no understanding of how local people live every day,’ she says. ‘It makes more sense to train people from developing countries—as DAA does—and these people can then bring back that knowledge to their countries. They know the territory.’

‘I would also like to see Australia recognise that diaspora groups can play a key role in international development. When we have this recognition, we might be able to get more funding, work with more groups, and then we can grow,’ she says optimistically.

 Nicky will be leaving DAA in July to return to her house in Hawaii. (She had worked there for almost ten years, in the 1990s.) ‘What’s in store for me?’ Nicky muses. ‘Perhaps I’ll get part-time work in Hilo, teaching ESL; I have contacts at the university there. I’m thinking of doing consulting for individuals who wish to contribute to non-profits. I’m excited about the possibilities!’

 Everything does, indeed, change. And, for Nicky, changes—even tough ones—are to be met with courage and grace. ‘My mantra is, “Change is good,” so it doesn’t frighten me,’ Nicky says, and smiles her wonderful smile. ‘I’m willing to do things on my own, and to accept the challenges as they’re given to me.’

Amy Rashap - writer.

If you would like to support the work of Diaspora Action Australia, please click here. 

Out and About

A participant on one of the ME forums commented a while back that those who recovered no longer hung out on the forums to share what they'd learned about getting well. Now I understand why: after four years with no social life and unable to enjoy every day activities, I now have no inclination to stay indoors tapping away on the laptop. I feel like I want to be out meeting people, going to every concert, seeing every art exhibit, taking every class, walking every path, shopping in every store, sitting in every café... the urge to get out and enjoy life is strong! So here are a few photos taken in the past few weeks as I get out and about here in Melbourne. Click on any photo to see a larger version of it.

My local train station. 

A foggy morning in North Fitzroy. Melbourne and Sydney are well-known for the cast iron decorations on many of the older houses. 

     

Carlisle Street: click on the photo to see the "Texas Milk Bar" lettering; the old milk bars are close to extinction. 

Sandringham Beach (no, not Norfolk!)

Sunset over Carlisle Street. 

             

Looking out over Port Philip Bay.

Feeling Better?

At one time I thought: “if it doesn’t get me back to work then I don’t want to know” when considering a “cure” or treatment for M.E. But in the past two months I’ve picked up around 10% in my overall health – and that 10% makes a big difference.

I can now drive short distances. This means I can go to the library, do some grocery shopping, get a hair cut, and go for some medical appointments without needing to ask for help. The sense of independence this provides is liberating – I am so dependent on others for many crucial aspects of life – and lifts my mood on days I go out.

The question I’m asking myself now – and if you have M.E. you may be thinking it too – is what have I done to feel better? Following are the main variables that have changed in my life in the past four months since moving to Melbourne from Malta:

Less exercise: I no longer need to carry my groceries – either someone else is doing the shopping, or I go by car; I no longer need to do all the cleaning myself; I no longer use stairs on a daily basis; I no longer have cats to clean up after and entertain (I miss them, but that’s a different matter).

Diet: I have been careful about diet for a long time, but have recently made further changes: cutting out sugar and sweet things entirely; cutting out wheat and gluten almost entirely; greatly reducing the amount of carbohydrates (rice, oats, bread, pasta, etc) eaten; reducing the amount of food I eat and eating smaller portions for all meals; limiting fruit to 1 piece a day (or less). I am in the process of getting tested for a wide range of food intolerances, including testing for celiac disease, so expect more adjustments to come.

Climate: Melbourne has a significantly drier climate than Malta, where humidity causes a lot of discomfort for people with ME and MS, in both summer and winter.

Noise: I now live in a relatively quiet suburb where I’m exposed to far less noise from neighbours, traffic, and local construction projects. The level of noise pollution in Malta has reached intolerable levels, and caused me a lot of stress.

There are other differences, but I think these are the most significant. Or it is just in the nature of this disease with its fluctuating symptoms that I happen to feel somewhat better at present. I must still be on my guard: a couple of hours away from home, spending time with another person, will still leave me feeling brain-fogged and drained. Ready to return to work I am not.

Visiting my father's photographic exhibit at the Monash Gallery of Art on one of the hottest days of the summer. 

Happy New Year Everyone!

Huge changes in my life – I am now living in Melbourne, Australia. Last year I applied for, and after many months was granted, residence in Australia. I arrived here on the 6^th November. I came on an immigrant visa category known as “last remaining relative”. At the time of application I was the only member of my immediate family who did not live in Australia. My parents, brothers and sister, and a growing collection of in-laws are all either Australian residents or citizens. I had held out for as long as I could.

Lemon Tree and Bottle Brush

Melbourne is a city of close to 4 million inhabitants. Aside from an academic year in London a long time ago, I’ve never lived in a big city. I’m a small-town gal at heart, and feel lost in the sprawling, anonymous suburbs of this place. Only the unusual warbling calls of the indigenous birds and the occasional scent of eucalyptus on a warm day hint that this is a very different continent. The suburbs of Melbourne feel just as far from the more evocative Alice or Darwin, Kakadu or the Great Barrier Reef as a suburb of London or L.A.

White picket fence in the suburbs

Next on the agenda: doing the rounds of doctors in the hope of finding answers. At least here there are a few doctors who are willing and interested in treating ME – even if they do not yet appear to distinguish between those with neurological ME, and others with a variety of illnesses that are mistakenly diagnosed as “CFS”.

I have not made any New Year’s resolution to keep the blog going. Either I will or I won’t. To find out, keep checking back!