Abdul, Ethiopia

Abdul’s dream is to one day become a pilot. For the 14-year-old, travelling, speaking different languages, and experiencing diverse cultures would make for the perfect job. Abdul has been getting help with his homework at the SMRC Homework Club for the past year, so he can get the marks he’ll need for his dream career.  

Since arriving in Australia with his family in 2018, Abdul hasn’t wasted a moment, adding impressive English language skills to the Arabic he learnt while in Egypt en route to Australia, and two African dialects from his home of origin in Ethiopia.  

He says he’s doing well in Physics, but was falling behind in Maths, so the Homework Club provided a great opportunity to get some additional help. He says the program’s mentors are great at explaining how to solve a problem: “They’re not giving you answers. They’re showing you how you do it, so next time you won’t be stuck on the same question.”

He says the mentor’s explanations are so helpful that “when I go to school I show off to my friend, ‘this is how you do it the easy way’ and they’re like that’s amazing and my friend gets impressed by it.” 

His attendance at the program is paying off back at school: “I was a bit behind on Maths but after I came here, I started catching up. My last test I got was 87, such a difference.” His grades are so good that he will be able to take on a VCE subject next year.  

Abdul says it’s not only help with homework that he gets when he attends the Club, but also friendship, advice and important life lessons from the experienced mentors.  

He hopes to one day volunteer with the program so he can help people who are new to Australia: “When you come here, and all things are in English, and you don’t know English … even though you know the subjects … it’s just too much. They just need something positive and someone to tell them it’s not all hopeless. I want to do that for someone else like me.”