On Tuesday 7 September, CatholicCare Victoria volunteer Paul Breed was named the recipient of the Outstanding Volunteer – Regional/Rural Award presented by the Centre for Multicultural Youth MY Education Awards, in collaboration with the Victorian State Government.
Paul has volunteered in the CatholicCare Victoria (CCV) and Northern Bay College (NBC) CALD Homework Club for three years, supporting newly arrived refugee and asylum seeker students.
Photo: Nestor Estampa (left) with Paul Breed (middle) at the Refugee Family Day Out at Werribee Zoo in 2018.
The CALD Homework Club is part of CCV’s Settle Well program, supporting refugee students and their mothers to settle well in Geelong.
“We’re so proud to see Paul recognised in the MY Education Awards for his outstanding support to students these past few years,” says Nestor Estampa, Family Counsellor and Coordinator of the Settle Well program.
“Paul has a great rapport with the Karenni community, and he tailors his support to meet the settlement and learning needs of CALD students.”
Students who are referred to the CALD Homework Club struggle with a range of problems including stress and anxiety regarding resettlement, difficulty connecting with teachers and peers, low self-esteem, and high rates of absenteeism and drop-out due to difficulties coping with their schoolwork.
Paul supports students through these difficulties by meeting them on their level and utilizing a flexible approach to learning, and he works in collaboration with NBC’s Multicultural Education Aides to identify CALD students in need of support.
“Mr Paul listens and finds a way to understand me,” says Kisile, one of Paul’s students. “I am a different student because of his wisdom and dedication to helping students.”
Paul has a calm and welcoming presence, and provides support which builds the confidence of students.
“Paul has never missed a session of the CALD Homework Club, he’s worked in collaboration with the school’s multicultural office and the Settle Well coordinator to secure literacy and numeracy resources suitable for EAL students and syllabus from teachers, and as a result of his feedback, he and other tutors review the NBC lessons in advance so they can provide better support to students,” says Nestor.
Having contributed 150 volunteer hours of support over three years, Paul is dedicated to providing support to refugees and asylum seekers - not only does he support the CALD Homework Club, but he also volunteers in the CCV and NBC L.I.V.E Well Club, and in CCV’s Refugee Dad and Kids Weekend program.
Excitingly, the CALD Homework Club at NBC Goldsworthy Campus was also shortlisted as one of the top four Out-of-School-Hours Learning Support Programs of the Year in regional/rural areas across Victoria as part of the MY Education Awards.
To read more about the shortlisted nominees and programs for CMY’s MY Education Awards, click here.
To learn more about CCV’s Geelong Settle Well program, visit our webpage below:
Settle Well
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