"I come in knowing that every single time I take a call, I am helping at least one person out. I'm helping the community and I think that's what makes me love coming to work."
Hindi ito ang klase ng trabaho ng mapupusuan ng lahat; ngunit para sa Ballarat resident na si Eileen Rivera, ang pagiging call-taker para sa Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority (ESTA) ay ang isa sa pinakamahalgang trabahao na maaari niyang pasukin.
Mga tawag para sa tulong
"I psych myself even before I got to work; but more than that, I try to focus on myself before going to work. I stretch. I meditate. I do this so that I can focus when I get to work," saad ni Eileen.
Ang pag-pokus sa trabaho ay nangangahulugang handa si Eileen para sa pitompu hanggang isang daang tawag kada araw.
Ayon sa kanya, karaniwan ang aksidente sa daan sa umaga dahil maraming nagmamadaling pumasok sa trabaho. Madalas naman daw ang aksidente sa outdoor sports kapag winter at, maraming insidente ng apoy kapag tag-init.
Focusing at work means being prepared for seventy to a hundred calls a day, never knowing what crisis needs tending to. Source: Eileen Rivera / ESTA
"We take calls from all over Victoria. ESTA has a few centres across the state; [so] regardless of the day [or season], we will have busy moments. You never know when an emergency will occur."
Habang mahirap mahulaan kung kailan mangyayari ang isang emergency, ang maasahan ng mga tao ang pagsisipag ng mga call-takers sa kanilang labing-dalawang oras na shift.
"Typically, we have two-day twelve-hour shifts. I do 6:30am to 6:30 pm. It's long, but I get four days off so it's not so bad. Every two hours at work, we get a thirty-minute break; but we can't leave the centre because obviously we have to be able to get to the phones right away if there's an emergency."
At kapag nangyari ang emergencies at pumasok na ang mga tawag, saad ni Eileen na kinakailangang kalmado sila kapag tumutulong sila.
"Typically, we have two-day twelve-hour shifts. I do 6:30am to 6:30 pm." Source: ESTA
"If you think about it, those who call are going through probably the most stressful situation ever. Their world then is chaotic. They're seeing a loved one hurt and they're stressed. We have to calm them down so we are able to extract information from them in a timely manner so we can send help right away."
Ayon kay Eileen, gumagamit sila ng mga komplikadong mga mapping systems upang siguraduhing maibibigay nila ang tama at mabilis na tulong.
"It's true what they see on TV that we work at a desk and that call-takers are calm. It's just not true that we wear a lot of makeup as they do on TV. [Because work can be heavy], we try to make our environment as light as we can."
Masayang isipin
Upang gumaan ang trabaho, ginawa ni Eileen ang 'Captured', isang art initiative para sa ESTA Ballarat triple zero centre.
"My husband is a professional photographer. We're really into the arts. I've noticed a lot of people here like taking photos [and doing art] too; so I thought it would be a good idea to have that refuge inside of work. It was just a plain wall; now, it's full of the things that remind us that we have lives outside of work - especially when a day is particularly difficult."
"My husband is a professional photographer. We're really into the arts." Source: Eileen Rivera / Chip Shots
Maluwag at masayang tinanggap ng mga kasamahan ni Eileen ang proyekto at ayon sa kanya, mas tumatag pa ang kanilang "little family in ESTA".
"We spend so much time together. I calculated and we spend 1/4 of our physical days with each other, so we have to able to take care of one another. Mental health is important because of the nature of our work. I've experienced not taking care of my mental health or tending to the mental health of others in the past. That takes a toll."
Naging inspirasyon ang pag-aalaga sa mental health ng bawat isa iba niyang kasamahan. Nag-isip din ang iba ng mga kani-kanilang proyekto gaya ng pag-display ng mga pet photos at pagbabahagi ng mga recipes.
"It's great that people are doing these happy things for our little family in ESTA. This shows that we are little parts of a mosaic. We're all pieces of a puzzle that when you put together, you create something beautiful. Our initiatives are physical manifestations of this thinking."
"This shows that we are little parts of a mosaic. We're all pieces of a puzzle that when you put together, you create something beautiful." Source: ESTA
'Captured' ay umpisa lamang ng gustong gawin ni Eileen sa centre.
"We all have our different ways of coping. Personally, I use music to de-stress. When a day is especially stressful, I go home and sing. I play my piano or my guitar. That's my refuge. Since the weather now is getting better, I'm thinking of a next project at work - maybe a concert?"
BASAHIN / PAKINGGAN DIN
