We have a very committed group of Year 12 and 13 students who faithfully attend the Refugee Orientation Centre Youth Catch-up Programme each week based out of Wintec. Hannah Lally and Elsa Rydin describe their experience this year.

The Refugee Centre Youth Catch-Up Programme is a rewarding opportunity to give back to the community and learn about different cultures. Every Monday after school, we go to Wintec and spend an hour with young female refugees from various year groups. Here, we tutor them in school subjects they may be struggling with and help them practise their English skills. We also talk about our own lives and learn about the differences between the Kiwi lifestyle and their Middle Eastern or South American backgrounds.

We signed up for the Refugee Youth Programme, hoping to make a difference. We have grown up in overseas countries and know what it's like to be new in New Zealand. Because we have this experience, which has very much shaped us into who we are today, we hoped to connect with the girls and make them feel welcome in this new country.

We believe that the main challenge, but also what we’ve enjoyed the most, very much interlink into the building of a relationship with the girls. Of course, this is a process that takes a long time and needs to be consistent; hence, it was really helpful that we got to meet the girls weekly. Initially, certain barriers like language, shyness and awkwardness were prevalent challenges, but we grew more comfortable with each other over time. Today, after having spent two terms getting to know each other, we have built amazing friendships. Looking back at our journey, it has truly been such an exciting process for us and it is an amazing achievement to feel that the girls feel the same way as we do.

The little time spent with the girls each week makes a huge impact on their confidence in their abilities. Often, the hardest thing for them is the language barrier as they are learning science, maths and social studies in a sometimes brand-new foreign language. Therefore, it is not necessarily the content they find difficult but the meaning of the words. Over the past two terms working with them, we have seen a huge improvement, with some people moving from non-achievers to merits. This achievement is incredibly rewarding, especially as we have built relationships with these girls and can celebrate and understand the significance of achieving these goals. It wasn’t until we joined the programme that we could build a greater understanding of the increased daily struggles of holding limited knowledge of the language. Therefore, it has opened our eyes, and we have gained a greater appreciation for communication as a whole.

Ultimately, this programme has taught us so much more than just tutoring. Meeting the girls has helped us to grow in so many ways, as we’ve been pushed to go out of our comfort zone to build something meaningful. The girls have also extended our knowledge of the world by introducing us to their cultures and telling us their unique stories. We are amazed by how much bigger the implications of this programme were as compared to when we initially signed up and how much it has affected us as individuals and made us better people. We would truly recommend this journey to anyone.

Hannah Lally and Elsa Rydin