γHello buddy, letβs walk side by side together!π¬π – 7 October 2021γ
For many newly migrated children, stepping into a new school, facing an unfamiliar curriculum & educational environment, together with language barrier and cultural differences, going to school may not be as enjoyable as we think.
Parents are eager to help as always, making great effort to look for resource and support for their children. However, being migrants themselves, parents may know very little about the education system in Australia and helping their children to integrate into the new country can be a very challenging and helpless task for them.
βThis situation unfortunately worsens especially when children enter high school. Parents may find it difficult to offer guidance on schoolwork, education and career development,β shared by Jane of CASS Care Settlement & Health Services.
She expressed, βWe identify the need to provide learning assistance to young people from disadvantaged migrant families to receive outside school learning opportunity, individualised one-to-one mentoring, homework assistance, development for literacy and numeracy skills, to support them for better integration into the mainstream community.β
Who will be the mentor & tutor? Jane continued to share, βWe are glad that the program has received enthusiastic support from the community. Many university graduates and university students from top-tier schools are eager to join as our voluntary mentors.”
“The most beautiful scene in this programme is the supportive relationships built between mentors and mentees. As these mentors also come from migrant backgrounds, they have experienced similar difficulties and emotional journeys the mentees are facing now.β βSo this program is not only individually task focused, but rather enhances the mental health and well-being of these young people as a whole. At the same time, the mentors also help facilitate communications between parents and kids.β
We are delighted to see the benefits generated from this programme and we appreciate the time and effort contributed by the voluntary mentors.
It is their hearts, kindness and a desire to help that opens the door for them to make a positive difference for children in our communities.
Mentoring enriches both mentors and mentees in many ways and helps to strengthen our community.
This programme is FREE. Please read the flyer for more information or contact us for enrolment. Bookings are essential.
If you are interested in becoming a voluntary mentor, please contact Jane Lu on (02) 9789 4589 or email your information to help@cass.org.au.