Julia Cannings (left) is in charge of a program that teaches English to new immigrants to Canada, while Mary Kiviste works for Okanagan College and promotes a program that teaches literacy and math skills. Both ladies are looking for volunteer tutors from Osoyoos to work with clients. (Keith Lacey Photo)
Dedicated volunteer tutors are being sought for two programs that help new immigrants to Canada improve their language and life skills.
Mary Kiviste, the volunteer tutor instructor/assistant with Okanagan College, and Julia Cannings, an English as a Second Language Settlement Assistance Program (ESL-SAP) instructor with the South Okanagan Immigrant and Community Services (SOICS), are both recruiting volunteer tutors to work with Osoyoos clients.
Okanagan College has been sponsoring a literacy and math skills program for residents from Osoyoos, Oliver and Okanagan Falls for the past 16 years.
Kiviste spends a lot of her time recruiting and training volunteer tutors to work with clients in all three communities.
Cannings’ program is focused much more directly on having tutors work directly with clients to improve their ability to speak English.
“We need volunteer tutors with both programs,” said Cannings. “My program is much more specific for people who have recently emigrated to Canada and now live here and don’t speak English at all or very little.”
While both programs are distinct and separate, Kiviste and Cannings are committed to working together with their respective programs and other community agencies to assist any immigrant who may need help to improve their literacy skills.
Cannings is hoping to attract volunteer tutors in the next couple of weeks to work with new clients that have recently moved to the Osoyoos area in early October.
“Our program runs year-round, but we do need a new influx of volunteer tutors to sign up for training now,” she said. “We have had people signing up for the summer, but we need a few more.
“In this line of work, the more the merrier as we have some volunteers who can only provide assistance at night after work or early in the mornings or only on weekends. The more good tutors we have trained, the more people we will be able to help.”
The literacy skills program provided by Okanagan College that Kiviste is in charge of has a minimum requirement that clients be able to “at least converse in English.”
Tutors with Kiviste’s program take part in 16 hours of free tutor training and commit to working one-on-one with an adult client in Osoyoos.
All clients must want to improve their reading, writing and math skills, be 19 years of age and older and commit to working regularly with their tutor during one-on-one sessions, said Kiviste.
The program is free and tutors aren’t paid, but the reward in helping immigrants improve their literacy and math skills is immense, she said.
“A lot of our clients don’t have any formal education in their countries of origin, so many of them feel intimidated and scared,” she said. ‘But they want to learn and improve and once they meet these people who are willing to volunteer to help them, most of them open up and become so appreciative for what these people are doing for them.
“They not only gain literacy skills, but their confidence grows immensely and you can see them develop right before your eyes.”
Trying to teach English to immigrants takes patience, compassion, understanding and a good sense of humour, said Cannings.
“You have to be patient and realize everyone learns at a different rate,” she said. “All we ask is that you are committed and try your best. We provide the training that has proven to work.”
You don’t need any formal education, tutoring or education background to get involved as a volunteer tutor for either program, said Kiviste.
“Some of our best tutors in the past have been those who don’t have a lot of formal training, but simply know how to communicate with people,” she said.
The program now being co-ordinated by Cannings used to be offered by Okanagan College, but was transferred to SOICS last year.
Helping immigrants through volunteering your time provides tremendous personal rewards, said Kiviste.
“It’s a good opportunity to make a real difference in someone’s life,” she said. “You can also learn about a new culture and hopefully make a really good friend.
“Almost all of our tutors say they get much more out of the program than they put in. It’s a very rewarding experience for almost all of our volunteer tutors.”
To sign up as a volunteer tutor, contact Kiviste at 250-492-4305, ext. 3244 or call toll-free at 1-866-510-8899. You can reach Cannings at 250-492-6299.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
