Apart from making school lunches that kids actually eat, one of the most challenging roles parents say they play is helping them with their homework.
Apart from making school lunches that kids actually eat, one of the most challenging roles parents say they play is helping them with their homework.
But imagine how much more daunting it would be if English wasn't your first - or even second - language.
With funding from Ventia's Community Grants Program, an innovative program in Toowoomba, Queensland is helping people from diverse cultures connect with their kids and their community - through homework.
The Multicultural Homework Club held its first session on World Day of Social Justice (20 February) and now has more than 20 school kids and their parents regularly attending its sessions.
Pictured: Tutor with students at the first Multicultural Homework Club session
Supporting a diverse community
Toowoomba is the third Queensland region to be named a Refugee Welcome Zone, making its cost-free Multicultural Homework Club an important asset for a growing ethnic population.
Currently, the program is focused on the city's growing Yezidi community, refugees from the Kurdistan region that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran.
Ventia's Community Grant enables a translator so sessions can be offered in Kurdish Kumunji and Arabic as well as English.
Given community demand for the program, however, additional funding is being sought to increase the number of languages offered.
Translator Rojin Rash delivers a Multicultural Homework Club session into Kurdish Kumunji and Arabic.
The Homework Club is the brainchild of The Lighthouse, a community centre focused on enhancing literacy, creativity, connectedness and mental health for Toowoomba families.
'Lighthouse Keeper' Emma Mactaggart said children of migrant and refugee families often require specialist support with their literacy needs.
The initiative provides tutoring support for students from non-English speaking backgrounds in their native tongue and assists their parents and carers to take an active part in their children's education.
"The process of working collaboratively gives children a chance to work to their strengths, realise their potential, and increase their self-efficacy,' Ms Mactaggart said.
The homework club will provide students with literacy, numeracy and study skills, help build confidence, self-esteem and feelings of connection to their wider community.
"It will also assist families gain greater knowledge of the education system and provide opportunities to explore practical strategies to support their children's learning at home.
"When a child transforms, it transforms the whole family."
Partnering for a more sustainable future
Ventia's Head of Sustainability Alexandra Monson said Ventia was immensely proud to have played a part in the delivery of this significant, community-led initiative.
"We believe in becoming a part of and a partner in the local communities where we operate," Ms Monson said.
"It's always uplifting to hear that our support is helping families, and particularly in this case, some of our most vulnerable.
"Our Community Grants Program was established to build regional strength and sustainability by creating a better future for people living in regions where we have key operations.
"Later this year, we will be reaching out to community groups in Toowoomba, Surat Basin, Gladstone, Northern Territory, Roxby Downs and the Pilbara to encourage them to participate in the program."
About The Lighthouse
The Lighthouse opened in February 2022 to deliver free literacy workshops to the children and youth of Toowoomba.
It has a dedicated youth writers' centre for children to explore literacy-based programs for free; workshop spaces for creative pursuits for adults and an experiential art gallery with regularly changing immersive exhibitions.
The Multicultural Homework Club is helping deliver the Lighthouse's mission to "help children navigate their futures through the love of story".
