IAN GOULD

In 2003 I spent about eight months in Tanzania, working with the United Nations Rwanda war crimes tribunal. I hoped to keep in meaningful contact with African and other cultures when I returned to Australia.

I signed up to volunteer with Mercy Refugee Service in mid-2004 to keep that link and hopefully make something of a difference, however modest that might be.

The training sessions were enlightening and inspiring. I gained a deeper insight into the refugee experience. I also made a strong connection with the other volunteers and Mercy Refugee Service staff, who were always inspiring.

Soon after the training I was placed with a group of four Sudanese brothers who had arrived in Australia relatively recently and apparently required social support. But the brothers were clearly succeeding in setting up their lives independently, so I finished my placement with them shortly afterwards.

The Iranian man whom I helped during my second placement was having somewhat more trouble. He was still learning English and had limited social contacts.

I helped him with some tenancy issues, such as organising for repairs to be made to his flat. I would often contact him through his friend, whose command of English was better. After a couple of months the friend told me the man I was supporting didn't need any more help.

It was frustrating as I felt he hadn't quite settled. But it was also a question of respecting someone's decision, so that placement ended after about three months.

I developed a much stronger relationship with the third family I helped, two brothers from West Africa. It was again inspiring to find two people who had suffered at home to be so positive and motivated about building a new life in Australia.

I helped the brothers organise training and job-seeking sessions with a local migrant resource centres. We also met up socially and the older brother came to my house once for dinner.

It was great to meet in a social setting where the emphasis was more on building a friendship than purely practical matters like filling in forms or setting up appointments. I think some of the most satisfying experiences come from forming a personal bond with a family.

After about nine months we agreed the family was settled, and the placement ended.

I am currently working with a single man from West Africa who is in the final stages of sponsoring his three children to come to Australia too.

He was very introverted when we first met, and seemingly despondent about the prospects of his children's visa applications.

I have helped him look into loan arrangements for the children's travel and it looks like their visas will be granted shortly. I have seen him become more settled and optimistic as the visa process progresses, which is really reassuring.

My experience volunteering with Mercy Refugee Service has reminded me how easy many of us have it in this country - and how easy it is to forget that.

It has also been rewarding to see how helping someone in even a basic way - making a few phone calls for them or meeting with them once a week - can make a meaningful difference to the settlement process.

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