To celebrate the 2020 National Volunteer Week. We have curated the following content as a way to say thank you.
Special message from Team AMES to our amazing volunteers:
THANK YOU TO ALL VOLUNTEERS!
Although we are yet to recruit new volunteers at this point, however we welcome individuals to reach out and express interest by emailing volunteer@ames.net.au
Volunteer gains insights into diversity and humanity
Her own cultural diversity and a fascination with multicultural communities led Sarah Chaouk to become a volunteer tutor with AMES Australia.
And she says her four year journey as a volunteer has given her insights into Australia’s vibrant multicultural society as well as new perspectives on people.
“I first came across AMES when I left High School. I wanted to do something between leaving school and going to University that got me out in the community and built my confidence,” Sarah said.
“My sister told me about AMES and I applied and went for an interview. So I became a volunteer tutor in the classroom and also in one to one situations,” she said.
“I was born in Lebanon, so I know what it’s like to come to a new country and have to start a new life.
“I though volunteering with AMES would give me the opportunity to meet other people from multicultural communities and to hear their stories and learn about their cultures as well as be able to help them a bit.
“I love the fact that when I go into a classroom people open up to me and shares parts of their stories, or their journeys. And times they tell me their problems.
“Sometimes there’s not much I can do to help them but I feel that just listening to them is helping in a small way,” she said.
Sarah says the whole experience of volunteering has enriched her and taught her more about the world.
“I think it has made me wiser and given me a broader perspective on the world and people,” said Sarah, an early childhood educator,” she said.
“And when I hear about the struggles and trauma some of our students have been through, it has made me feel grateful to live in their country,” she said.
Sarah says she recently met a single mum with four kids who as struggling with life.
“This lady had some real issues and she was struggling but she was still coming class, trying to do her best for herself and her kids. I was able to work with her one to one and she opened up to me a little, which I hope helped her,” Sarah said.
“This woman is so strong despite her struggles and that inspires me,” she said.
Sarah says she has loved the experience of working with AMES.
“I’ve always felt supported at AMES and I feel my work is appreciated and my time not wasted,” she said.
“The staff at AMES are great and they always let you know what is going on,” Sarah said.
Written by AMES Australia Media Team, originally published in April 2020
Volunteer clocks up 20 years of service helping refugees, migrants
For twenty years Bernard Vancuylenburg has been volunteering to help newly arrived refugees and migrants learn English and settle in their new country.
A migrant himself, he has found a mission in life to support new migrants with English language proficiency and also to assist them to become comfortable and orientated in their new lives in Australia.
Working with migrant and refugee settlement agency AMES Australia in Melbourne’s south east, he has helped dozens of people find their feet in a new land. Click here to read the full article, originally published in March 2020
Written by AMES Australia Media Team and published on iMPACT
Although we are yet to recruit new volunteers at this point, however we welcome individuals to reach out and express interest by emailing volunteer@ames.net.au