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However, as the social welfare programs became bigger and more important, men no longer maintained their membership because they did not have much time.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