“I have been tutoring a family of 5 (Mother and 4 children) now for about 6 months or so with two other tutors and have found it to be one of the most rewarding and eye-opening experiences I have ever undertaken. To know and be able to see that you can and are actively making a difference in someone’s life is so amazing and not only are you teaching and assisting a family, but at the same time you learn so much from them also.

An hour may seem like a large chunk of time to some of you, but once you are there and interacting with the family that you tutor the time seems to fly and before you know it; it is time to finish the session. With the family I tutor we spend the most of our time together on homework, reading and speaking English, but it is also important to play and if you can make learning into a game, then so much the better.

Through refugee tutoring you begin to form new bonds and friendships with both the people you tutor and the other tutors through whom there is so much that can be learnt and shared, creating an invaluable experience for all involved.”

“Tutoring has been a brilliant experience.  My tutor group has had the opportunity to become involved in the learning and development of a young Congolese family.  During this time we have come to learn of the culture and traditions of Congolese people, we have learnt of the hardships that have dominated their lives, and of the human spirit that drives their minds forward to see the world for what it might be now that they have relocated to Australia.

It really has been an amazing journey to share - we have been a part of their learning, which can be both cute and desperately frustrating when singing the alphabet always stops at the letter "h".  We have also been apart of the family's personal celebrations, such as finding that their father, who was missing for 8 years, is alive and attempting to immigrate to Australia to be with them.  

I would highly recommend this program to anyone...there are so many things in life we take for granted.  You and I would never be left homeless... we have family or friend who would take us in.  These families have no-one.  You and I would never be left suffering... we would have the language ability to call someone and ask them for help.  These families do not have the language ability, or local knowledge of community services that are available to satisfy these basic needs.  If you have just 1 hour a week that you can spend with a refugee family, you should strongly consider joining VoRTCS.”

“After having visited my family every Tuesday night for over a year, I find it impossible to imagine life without them.   How could I get through my week in a commercial law firm without hugs from my 4 year old, without singing rap songs with the older boys and seeing the younger kids smile when they spell the word “could” all by themselves for the first time?  Without my 8 year old who thinks the answer to every maths problem is “four”, and his sister, who has never worn her hair the same way twice in all the time I’ve known her?

VoRTCS is one of the most rewarding programs I’ve ever been involved in.  It focuses on teaching refugees, but it invariably involves also learning from them.  I’ve learnt so much already: about teaching kids, about refugees, about myself – and, inevitably, about 50 Cent.  Visiting my family is easily the best night of my week.”

“My partner and I spend about 2 hours there each week, helping the girls with their homework and Mum with her English. Although I’m not always able to help the Mother (5 cheeky girls can be a bit of a handful!), just having a chance to bring English into her home has helped her so much! It’s been really rewarding to see her go from being shy and stand-offish with me, to developing so much confidence in her English and really welcoming me into her home. I was touched when she told me “All Africans are brothers and sisters – we are all friends and we say hello on the street even when we don’t know each other. You are our sister now as well!” It’s really nice to feel so appreciated.

As for the girls, I spend most of my time helping with homework, but also try to take activities for them – find-a-word exercises are my favourite at the moment!. A hint for new tutors – stickers and coloured pencils are a BIG hit! The older girls are great as well. I help them with homework and also with things like selecting their Senior school subjects, finding work experience placements, and we talk a lot about our cultural differences. They are all still shocked that I’m not married but have moved away from my Mum and Dad! That’s just not done in Africa!

It’s so encouraging to see the difference we have been able to make. For example, when I first started tutoring, the primary school girls would do all their addition sums by drawing sticks in their workbooks. Think 25 + 37 – that’s one line of 25 sticks, one line of 37, and then count all the sticks! It was a long process. Just being able to have one-on-one time to teach them new methods has made maths a whole lot easier. Their teachers aren’t always able to devote that time to fixing little problems.

Overall, tutoring has been such a valuable experience – for me and the family I’m working with. We have learned a lot from each other, and become really good friends. It’s great to know I’m helping people and I feel like I’ve been rewarded with five crazy little sisters!”