ANZA: A steadily growing expat women's association

ANZA: A steadily growing expat women's association

By Yenni Kwok

JAKARTA (JP): When Nicole Taggart and her husband left
Australia for Indonesia two years ago, she also left behind her
friends and career.

Like many expatriate women, at first Taggart found coming to
Jakarta, a city of more than nine million people, was a shock.
The culture was different and English was not widely spoken.
Moreover, because of Indonesia's immigration rules, Taggart could
not work to keep herself busy.

She then heard about an Australian club and went to a morning
coffee session. That is when the Australian and New Zealand
Association (ANZA) became an important part of her life in
Jakarta.

Taggart made new friends there and even became involved in the
club's activities.

Although ANZA is an Australian and New Zealand club, its
membership is also open to women from other countries, including
Indonesia.

When ANZA was started 26 years ago by a group of men and
women, the activities were mainly morning tea sessions and social
welfare programs, said ANZA's president, Lyn Kearney.

However, as the social welfare programs became bigger and more
important, men no longer maintained their membership because they
did not have much time.

Currently all the members, about 700 in total, are women,
mostly spouses of working expatriates. ANZA aims to support them
and keep them busy with their programs. As Kearney believes: "If
the women aren't happy, the husbands cannot stay."

Through ANZA, members can choose to take either cooking,
tennis or handicraft courses. The courses allow members to share
their skills with others.

For newcomers, ANZA can be a place to turn to.

"Most of the women come here unprepared. They are at a loss in
terms of finding their way around, especially if things operate
differently between their country and Indonesia. For example,
looking for a house is a different process here from the one in
Australia," said Kearney.

ANZA, therefore, provides some orientation programs for
newcomers. The programs give tips about shopping areas, hospitals
and hygiene. There have also been some tours to the Avon cosmetic
factory, the traditional market Mayestik and the Mangga Dua
shopping center.

If anyone needs Indonesian lessons, ANZA can also provide a
list of contact persons.

Marilyn Ardipradja, an Australian married to an Indonesian and
one of the longest members, believes ANZA can provide an
opportunity for expatriate women to contribute something here.

"ANZA provides not only a 'space' for Australians and New
Zealanders to meet, but also an opportunity to raise money for
less-fortunate Indonesians."

Also, its extensive social welfare programs are the answer for
providing women with years of activities.

Taggart is an example. Being an ANZA treasurer, she can
utilize her skills in accounting.

Although all ANZA's work is voluntary, women can put in as
much time and commitment as the paid workers.

"It is a big organization. We currently have 700 members. So,
it is a big job at the moment," Taggart said.

Sonja Parry, an Indonesian member, realized the commitment.
Because she is working full-time, she can not join any volunteer
committee formally, she said. Instead, she helps in the volunteer
projects whenever she has time.

Currently, there are about a dozen projects that ANZA's Social
Welfare Committee is regularly committed to, said Ardipradja, an
honorary life member. The committee works very closely with the
government's Social Welfare Coordinating Body.

Moreover, ANZA sometimes works together with other expatriate
women's associations, such as the British Women's Association and
the American Women's Association, for some social projects.

Some of the prominent projects are scholarships for poor
children to attend schools, food kitchens for old and poor
Indonesians and donations to the Balita and Sayap Ibu orphanages
as well as communities in Jakarta's slum areas.

Besides giving out "the fish", that is donating food and
money, ANZA also gives "the rod". The most recent project
involved paraplegics in East Jakarta.

Some members in the subcommittee Friends of Panti Paraplegia
have taught the paraplegics how to make greeting cards and helped
them sell the cards, Kearney said.

These handmade cards have provided them with a personal income
and a level of self-esteem, Kearney said.

Ardipradja began to be involved in social work since joining
ANZA. She sponsors the education of a 14-year-old boy in
Yogyakarta, one of the 200 children supported by ANZA.

"I enjoy getting involved," she said. "I feel I can make a
difference."

The sense of support and friendliness leads many women to
choose ANZA over many other expatriate women's organizations.

"It is very casual here," said Ashtiana Nordskog of Singapore,
who is also a member of Canadian, Singaporean, Nordic and ASEAN
women's clubs. "What impressed me the first time was that people
did not talk only about shopping. The atmosphere is very down-to-
earth."

People whose communities are not large here have joined the
organization, Kearney said. Besides Australians and New
Zealanders, there are also people from Switzerland, Fiji and Sri
Lanka.

ANZA has grown tremendously. When Ardipradja joined the club
14 years ago, there were only 150 members, and all of them knew
each other.

Now, membership has grown to 700 people, and it also has a
clubhouse in a southern suburb of Jakarta. Of course, there is a
drawback.

"It becomes less personal," Ardipradja said.

However, ANZA's popularity seems to be increasing, according
to Sandhga Madireddi, a new member from India.