Jill carries the oldest volunteer number V0084 at our centre! Since she was trained in 1997, Jill has helped 10 learners from different cultures and ethnicities. Taranaki centre manager Yuka Kobayashi met Jill in February 2015 for the first time when she popped in and said she wanted to come back to tutoring after she and her husband had spent five years teaching in China.
Jill wrote this lovely piece about her learner Anita:
Anita has been living in New Zealand for almost two years, having travelled from India, with her husband and two sons. Next week she’s due to become a NZ Permanent Resident. A few weeks ago, Anita saw a sign at the local Hospice shop ‘Volunteers needed’, and asked about it. After Anita returned the completed form, the manager contacted her for a short interview. That was it. Anita is now a volunteer!
Her work is a five-minute walk from home. She’s enjoying going out several days a week for a few hours in an English-speaking environment. Anita says the manager is comfortable with her level of English. Anita sorts, folds, packs and bags or boxes of goods, as well as stapling and writing prices.
There are different volunteers each day, and this is proving to be an enjoyable experience. Anita was recently invited to the Hospice Christmas Lunch, organised for 500 Hospice volunteers. She went alone, and was interested in the programme of certificate and trophy presentations to long-standing volunteers, as well as the traditional New Zealand Christmas menu.
All of us at English Language Partners Taranaki are proud of Anita’s progress in two short years.
Volunteer with us! If you are interested in becoming a volunteer ESOL home tutor next year, click here for more details or contact a centre near you.
