MARK (ENGLAND)

Volunteered From NOVEMBER 2017 TO DECEMBER 2017

I’d never volunteered for anything like the Habibi Centre before and so I was at a total loss on what to expect. The things that really struck and stayed with me were the following: It’s hard work. Despite being a native English speaker to be engaged for 7 hours (no breaks) then marking homework and planning the next day’s session is fulfilling but demanding work. Your days will be full. The students. Not for one minute during the day did it ever come across that they were victims of a crisis. They were intelligent and eager students. Each one had such character. They were all hard working, humorous and inspirational they were truly a pleasure to know and teach. Steph. I knew of Steph’s story and was very impressed by her incredibly generous and caring character. What surprised me was just how successfully she does what she does. How personal and versatile the school is, how she gets the students to be so motivated and eager and just how pragmatic and driven she is. She’s a rare human with such an abundance of great characteristics. She’s also great company. My role. Unconsciously I believe I went there with the idea I would be caring for, cheering up, entertaining and in other ways providing instant gratification to these young victims of the refugee crisis. I very quickly realised that is not the role at all and that role would benefit my own needs much greater than theirs. They are students and not victims. The role as I later understood it was to provide them with the order and discipline of a school environment. Provide them with the resource and motivation to work hard and drive their own education and future, and just to listen to and discuss with them your views and beliefs can make such a positive impact even if given a short time frame. I enjoyed every element of every day there. Its challenging, its engaging, it’s fulfilling, I found it very educational and it was simply a brilliant experience.