Victoria, Tanzania

While Tanzania is the last place Victoria stepped foot on in Africa, she in fact comes from Burundi – a small national just north of Tanzania that has a population of around 10.5M and more than its fair share of civil war.

I spent a year as a refugee camp before I was granted residency in Tanzania. Thirty-five years later she immigrated to Australia with her husband and child.

While the war was left behind, and she spent most of her adult life in Tanzania, the final chapter of her life in Australia was just beginning.

“If you don’t come from a modern city, this is a very different life to adjust to.”

It was her mother-in-law that connected her with SisterWorks, which would enable her to connect to many other women learning a new life in this country.

“I was really keen to have something to do and to make a positive contribution. I’m one of the Entrepreneurs here – I make and sell jewellery and 75% of the sale price of my jewellery comes back to me. The remaining 25% helps fund our operation here and support the other women in our group.”

“It’s a great place to pop down to anytime. It’s helping me financially but I always like the connection too.”

“I’m really pleased to have been developing skills and learning more about small business here in Australia. In Tanzania there is no such thing as Centrelink, so I have always had the mindset that I need to find a way to sustain my own living. So I taught myself how to make jewellery. I can’t grow food here, I have to buy it, so I needed to find a way to pay for food. I have never looked for anyone to give me money, so I needed to find a way to make money.

“I chose to learn a craft I can do in my own time at home around the times that suit my family. It’s the right kind of job for a working mum. ”