The Prahran high-rise public housing has many single mums from overseas with plenty of children running around.
 
When Rotary Prahran started a Homework Club for one afternoon a week, I was sceptical and resisted getting involved. What could one hour a week actually achieve? 
As the number of kids turning up each week grew from 12 to 22, resulting in an extreme need for more volunteers, I bit the bullet and put my hand up (with a bit of an inward groan).
 
My first impression was of controlled chaos. Usually, one child or another doing their best to be noticed. Multiple activities at once. The babble of adult and children’s voices intermingled. Pencils, paper, and books were everywhere.
 
But despite the chaos, there is a structure that works:  an insistence on good manners, provision of an after-school snack, tables for designated year levels, and a coming together for the final hour for group activity.
 
But what turned me around to become an advocate for this project?
 
I worked with different children but consistently a small Year 3 boy from Sudan would seek me out. He was a bright kid but didn’t like sitting still, found it difficult to stay focussed on the task at hand, and liked a chat. Very like my younger son which made it easy for me to recognise the need to switch tasks frequently and give him mental space to let the energy out.
 
My previous expectations were proved to be completely misguided when one afternoon my little chap’s mum asked to talk to me. She said that he had always been in trouble at school, his reading and writing had been poor. But now he was getting As! She asked me to keep working with him.
 
So I’m in for the long haul now. I’ll be there, 1 hour a week, knowing that I’m making a difference.
 
Homework Club closed during COVID, but now Rotary Prahran has been asked to restart the initiative, with some additional infrastructure provided by Stonnington Council. Ideally, we will have a volunteer for each child. If you can see yourself in this role and live within cooee of Prahran, please reach out and contact me on susan.vincent@rotaryprahran.org.au and we will send through the necessary paperwork.
 
One last thought: Clearly this project addresses Literacy, but it does more than that. The recent International Convention in Melbourne turned my mind to the concept of Positive Peace – not just the absence of conflict but the presence of an environment that enables each person to reach their potential. I reckon this is also a Peace initiative. Just like so much of what we do at Rotary.
 
Author: Sue Vincent, Rotary Prahran