Refugee students have been given a look at the inner workings of volunteer organisations like the State Emergency Service (SES) as part of a program to explain what is often an unfamiliar concept.
Fourteen students from Belmore Boys High School in Sydney’s south-west visited their local SES unit in Bankstown on Friday.
“It surprised me how they do everything for nothing, they put themselves in dangerous [situations] just to help us. It’s amazing,” student Mustapha Alnajar told SBS News.
School principal Hala Ramadan says learning about these organisations helps them integrate into Australian society.
“For them to be able to be successful citizens, informed citizens, they need to be involved in things like this. Schools are all about educating kids, and they're all about the learning and wellbeing of children,” Mr Ramadan told SBS News.
“But there are things that schools, on their own, cannot provide, and I'm quite grateful that we've actually teamed up with all these services and service providers outside of school to educate the kids about their new home, because, ultimately, Australia is their new home."
SES volunteers talk to students from Belmore Boys High School in Sydney Source: SBS News
Having students understand organisations like the SES may encourage them to become volunteers themselves, which has big benefits according to New South Wales SES Youth Engagement Coordinator, Todd Burns.
“When the SES gets out there and helps people, especially in the aftermath of floods and weather events, we need people who can communicate with their communities and understand their communities,” Mr Burns told SBS News.
While some people may perceive volunteering to be old-fashioned, the numbers of people aged between 16 and 25 giving up their time to help others has doubled in the past 10 years.
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