Our families come from many different countries including Afghanistan, Sudan, Myanmar, Iraq, Vietnam, Syria, Burundi, Somalia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Iran, Bhutan and Eritrea. Our goal is to assist all members of the family to settle into life in Australia, to build community links, and empower them to be able to access every opportunity available to all Australians.
We aim to empower most of our families so that after two years, they become confident to navigate the Brisbane community. It is a very proud day for everyone in the family and tutor team when this happens as we name this point in their journey their ‘Graduation from VoRTCS’.
Each week these families welcome our volunteers into their homes and hearts, dedicating themselves to learning as much as possible whilst also sharing their culture and spirit. Often our tutors find that they learn just as much from their VoRTCS family as they teach them and feel privileged to have the opportunity to meet and become friends with such incredible people.
VoRTCS families can take many forms (may not include all family members or parents) and like our volunteers they come from all walks of life, bringing a variety of cultural backgrounds, languages and skills.