Gina-Marie CheesemanVolunteering brings Rewards
May 3rd 2007 12:26
Dedication to helping others in need comes as second nature to someone who has worked as a nurse all there life, but it was the isolation of a two year stay in Italy unable to speak the language that lead Mern Betts to tutor refugee and migrants in English upon her retirement.
“Living in a foreign country and unable to communicate with those around while trying to raise small children made me feel very isolated and gave me an understanding of what migrants go through,” she says.
So with her experience in Italy firmly etched in her mind Mern sought work as a volunteer with Volunteering Queensland. She found the perfect placement for herself at the Annerley Literacy Centre teaching mostly refugees from Africa and Asia basic English as well as the day to day skills of coping in a vastly different environment to what they had been use to.
“For many it starts with the simple act of showing them how to sit on a seat which may seem absurd but it is all very new to them,” she says.
Mern has worked as a volunteer tutor at the centre for over five years, giving up two days a week to help those who in many cases have fled poverty, war and injustice to gain some independence in a country that both excites and terrify’s them.
It is Harmony Day and at the centre African rhythms reverberate around the room above the sound of laughter and chatter as a diverse group of people eat lunch and enjoy each others’ company. Mern proudly introduces one of her students.
Haregewine is a 20 year old refugee from Ethiopia who arrived in Australia in January 2005 with her brother and uncle. Mern believes her parents did not survive the war but is reluctant to ask.
When Haregewine first began classes at the literacy centre she would not make eye contact with anyone and her uncle and brother spoke on her behalf.
The woman who sits alongside Mern now has a wide smile and an air of confidence in her voice. She can now read and write, has found part-time work and hopes to attend TAFE college next year and has definite plans for the future which appear to have been inspired by Mern.
“I hope to do nursing,” Haregewine says. She smiles at Mern who appears to be taken aback by this plan.
In an instant the rewards of helping others less fortunate to succeed becomes as obvious as the proud smile on the faces of both Mern and Haregewine.
For Mern her enthusiasm for the job has not diminished. If anything, it has grown as she has seen the positive outcomes for her students. What does concern Mern is the current talk of proposed tougher English tests for new citizens and the Federal Governments attempts to making obtaining citizenship tougher.
“The people especially the women who come here always tell me they want to become Aussie women and for them passing English tests are just obstacles to them doing just that,” she says.
While many may not be able to pass a toughened English test Mern believes this does not diminish their desire to integrate in Australia it is just that they spend so much time surviving from day to day that developing better English skills is low on their list of priorities. Raising children and finding a job are their most important tasks.
Recent debate over the appropriateness of a large influx of African refugees into the local area also according to Mern goes unnoticed by her students.
“They are just to busy surviving and those issues are not really of concern to them” she says.
Volunteer tutoring for Mern has made retirement not seem like the end of her working life but simply a transition to another challenging and rewarding phase for her. She has no intentions of slowing down or giving up her volunteer work and her hope is that others take the time to gain similar rewards.
“Living in a foreign country and unable to communicate with those around while trying to raise small children made me feel very isolated and gave me an understanding of what migrants go through,” she says.
So with her experience in Italy firmly etched in her mind Mern sought work as a volunteer with Volunteering Queensland. She found the perfect placement for herself at the Annerley Literacy Centre teaching mostly refugees from Africa and Asia basic English as well as the day to day skills of coping in a vastly different environment to what they had been use to.
“For many it starts with the simple act of showing them how to sit on a seat which may seem absurd but it is all very new to them,” she says.
Mern has worked as a volunteer tutor at the centre for over five years, giving up two days a week to help those who in many cases have fled poverty, war and injustice to gain some independence in a country that both excites and terrify’s them.
It is Harmony Day and at the centre African rhythms reverberate around the room above the sound of laughter and chatter as a diverse group of people eat lunch and enjoy each others’ company. Mern proudly introduces one of her students.
Haregewine is a 20 year old refugee from Ethiopia who arrived in Australia in January 2005 with her brother and uncle. Mern believes her parents did not survive the war but is reluctant to ask.
When Haregewine first began classes at the literacy centre she would not make eye contact with anyone and her uncle and brother spoke on her behalf.
The woman who sits alongside Mern now has a wide smile and an air of confidence in her voice. She can now read and write, has found part-time work and hopes to attend TAFE college next year and has definite plans for the future which appear to have been inspired by Mern.
“I hope to do nursing,” Haregewine says. She smiles at Mern who appears to be taken aback by this plan.
In an instant the rewards of helping others less fortunate to succeed becomes as obvious as the proud smile on the faces of both Mern and Haregewine.
For Mern her enthusiasm for the job has not diminished. If anything, it has grown as she has seen the positive outcomes for her students. What does concern Mern is the current talk of proposed tougher English tests for new citizens and the Federal Governments attempts to making obtaining citizenship tougher.
“The people especially the women who come here always tell me they want to become Aussie women and for them passing English tests are just obstacles to them doing just that,” she says.
While many may not be able to pass a toughened English test Mern believes this does not diminish their desire to integrate in Australia it is just that they spend so much time surviving from day to day that developing better English skills is low on their list of priorities. Raising children and finding a job are their most important tasks.
Recent debate over the appropriateness of a large influx of African refugees into the local area also according to Mern goes unnoticed by her students.
“They are just to busy surviving and those issues are not really of concern to them” she says.
Volunteer tutoring for Mern has made retirement not seem like the end of her working life but simply a transition to another challenging and rewarding phase for her. She has no intentions of slowing down or giving up her volunteer work and her hope is that others take the time to gain similar rewards.
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