Work for the Dole helps bushfire survivors rebuild
14 June 2011
According to Black Saturday Bushfire survivor Cathy Ferguson, just knowing that she had not been forgotten and that people care, was enough to get her through.
On May 4, Cathy joined several other City of Whittlesea residents, as well as Rob Mitchell, Federal Member for McEwen, Whittlesea Mayor Cr Rex Griffin and Karingal CEO Daryl Starkey to recognise six MatchWorks clients who were involved in the Federal Government’s Work for the Dole BlockAid program. May 4 signified an official end to the program, and the graduation of the six Work for the Dole participants.
The BlockAid program began in November 2010, after it was identified that many City of Whittlesea residents who had been affected by the 2009 bushfires were in need of extra practical assistance to tidy up their properties. The assistance included manual labour, tools and equipment as well as a team of people to operate tools and equipment.
It was the first time ever that a Work for the Dole program had ever been conducted on private land, and in six months 41 different properties had been rejuvenated. According to Federal Member for McEwen Rob Mitchell, this physical evidence of a community moving on was an integral part of the healing process.
“I find it hard to imagine a more worthwhile project,” he said. “What you (the Work for the Dole participants) have done to help this community has been sensational.”
MatchWorks General Manager Michael Wasley said that MatchWorks provided the Work for the Dole participants with real training designed to assist them with finding employment.
Participants in this project completed several units within a Certificate II in Forest Growing and Management, which included units in using hand held tools, undertaking brush cutting operations, chainsaw use and wildlife awareness.
He said that the program has been so successful, that two of the participants have since found employment.
Said Said, a MatchWorks Work for the Dole BlockAid participant, said that he was immensely proud to have been involved in BlockAid.
“At first I joined because it was compulsory, I thought I had to do it. But then I began wanting to do it,” he said. “The bushfires seemed so far away. But actually they were so close to home – helping these people made it real.”