fws Australia -strong as ever

Hello and thanks for reading the first of many fws Australia blogs - if you don’t know me, my name is Shona (I also answer to shoney, shones, pony and shonabanana) and I am the Acting President of foodwatershelter

Last Sunday was Father’s day in Australia and I took the opportunity to thank my brilliant Dad (yes, who lives in Banana Shire C.Q) for the entrepreneurial streak that he has passed on to all of his sons and daughters. He is such a smart man - not afraid to take risks and works so hard.

I have believed for a while now, that success is not measured by money but by the achievement of your personal goals and the impact that you have on others on a day-to-day basis.

I know that my Dad is proud of what I do.
There is no personal financial gain to report - not a sausage, but founding and managing an organisation with Beck, Kelsey, Anne and Ed, while working full time rates pretty high I reckon. As for the impact fws has on others? Well, I will let the current Tanzanian team tell you all about that. If I start describing my love for the people of Sinon, how they make the most of everything regardless of their obvious hardships and the beauty of the village itself, you may well nod off or at the very least log off.

So, the central message of this blog is to let anyone reading know that
- fws Australia remains as strong as ever!
We are minus one VIP for a few months but we are so proud that Beck is taking the break that we all hoped she would. The last 2 months have been life at it’s toughest for many but as Darren’s mum, Mrs Stratti, explained to me on the day of Daz’s funeral, “ You can’t hide from life”. foodwatershelter has always been fuelled by strength and continues to be so.

With any changes in structure to an organisation comes ‘hand overs’ and what a massive job this has been. This eye-ball-bleeding work has been made a little sweeter by the fws magic….yeah, stay with me- no voodoo here…… The truth is, that over the last 3 years whenever there was a need for more professional foodwatershelter volunteers, they just appeared.

When the team discussed the next phase of fws, we knew that we would need some pretty sensational people to come on board and come they did.
HR/ideas people/ volunteer managers/shipping container coordinators/ fundraising managers/ membership coordinators/accountants……....the list goes on.

It is hard to believe that I have never met some of these people (the fact that we live in different states does explain a bit) but we are a team and there is an unspoken connection that exists between us. Those unfamiliar with fws probably wouldn’t realise that when the regular working day ends, the fws management comes to life. The little green lights of g-mail begin to shimmer, as one by one the team across Australia log on to their computers and begin the work. I may not know all of these volunteers’ faces but I recognise their passion; I know their drive and I understand their commitment to helping others.

I know that when I am in Tanzania I feel so supported by those at home. It is an absolute privilege to pay back the favour and eat yet another meal in front of the computer for those currently working in Africa and giving all they can.

Cheers
S