The Readings Foundation assists Victorian organisations that support the development of literacy, community integration and the arts. Grants Officer Leanne Hall and Digital Marketing Manager Lian Hingee visited River Nile Learning Centre recently – one of the 11 projects being supported by the Foundation in 2017.

River Nile Learning Centre is a warm, cheerful and welcoming organisation in North Melbourne that has the distinction of being the only place in Melbourne where refugee and asylum seeker women can learn English while their children benefit from an on-site childcare and early learning service. On the morning we visited there was an atmosphere of quiet industry, with two separate classrooms in action and the childcare room in use.

This year the Readings Foundation awarded money to River Nile Learning Centre to assist them to expand their already-established Foundation English program by employing another specialist part-time English as an Acquired Language (EAL) teacher. The program is for newly-arrived refugee and asylum seeker women who have little or no English, and no experience of education from their home countries. Some may have received minimal hours of English tuition from the government, which is typically around 50 hours. (To put that in perspective, imagine trying to speak a new language after two weeks!)

When Lian and myself visited the centre, the students were learning directions with a street map, an important topic given several of the women are keen to work towards their driver’s license. The teacher, Rebecca, and a volunteer tutor (a retired school teacher) were able to work intensively and responsively with the small group of students, paying dedicated attention to individual learning. One student from Iran has been attending River Nile for five years now and is finally finding her voice and confidence to speak in English. She said she enjoyed reading with her school-age children. Rebecca is further evidence of the long-standing relationships that form at River Nile. She first came to the organisation to do her placement for her Masters of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, continued on as a volunteer and is now employed part-time.

Next door to the English class, a bigger class of VCAL (Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning) students were working on free reading time and reading comprehension as part of their Bridging EAL subject. The students, all young women in their teens and early twenties, have predominately come from large state schools were they have not been able to receive the support they need to complete the final two years of high school. I had a quick chat to some of the students to hear about what kinds of books and writing they liked and their tastes were as diverse of the poems of Khalil Gibran and Melina Marchetta’s Looking for Alibrandi. They were also excited about presenting different topics, and preparing food, for their upcoming Health & Wellbeing expo.

The Director of River Nile Learning Centre, Lisa Wilson, explained that the organisation also offers intensive support in the areas of wellbeing and pathways to employment. They have a partnership with Service Stars to provide students with a work readiness program that covers job skills, information about job search and job application processes, Australian employment conditions, communication expectations and cultural differences. Several young women have received training and certification allowing them to gain employment in the catering and hospitality industry. Jane from Service Stars works closely to mentor the women and help them develop long-term education and career plans.

Finally, just down the hallway from where their mums are studying hard, is a childcare room full of artworks, toys, books and educational tools where kids receive full preparation for kindergarten. The qualified childcare workers are all members of the African community, and in some cases, graduates of the centre.

We were so impressed with the important work River Nile Learning Centre does to help refugee and asylum seeker women faced with extremely challenging circumstances in Australia. If you’re interested in learning more, please visit their website. As a Readings customer, you are already assisting their work.

Readings donates 10% of its overall profit to The Readings Foundation each year, and crucial funds are also raised from donations by Readings customers. Find out more here.