(bright music)
- I'm Zizi Charida from Community Minds.
I'm the CEO of Community Minds,
and we're based in Bankstown.
- So I'm Fatima Kourouche,
I'm from Olive Tree Women's Network.
I'm Executive Officer and founder.
And I've been with the organization for 13 years now.
- It's a massive problem in our communities,
this feeling of isolation and loneliness.
And I think that there's a misconception around, you know,
when you're from a kind of vibrant, busy community,
that it's impossible to feel lonely,
- And I realized in life, you have the peaks and troughs,
you know, and that's where I see this work with Olive Tree.
Because our purpose is to connect women, socially,
and it can be through little events and things.
So yeah, hopefully to connect with the women
and just to listen to what they want,
and how we can also help them in that work with us.
And, you know, to connect in an in a new way,
especially after COVID, there is a new way to connect.
And if you don't know how to use FaceTime,
or if you don't have a phone that can do that,
or iPad or laptop, whatever, all those things don't know,
you're totally gonna be isolated.
And if when we're calling, we're labeling people lonely,
then it's almost like we're saying the problem is with you.
But if we're saying hey,
we're about kind of creating meaningful,
beautiful connections in times like the COVID pandemic,
and doing it in such a way where it kind of brings,
you know, generations together, you know,
it's cross generational to,
I mean, you know, magic can emerge from that, I think.
(bright music)