Laverton’s Mya Wah, a Karen refugee from a camp on the Thai-Burma border, is typical of Volunteer West’s 300 volunteers.
Mr Wah (pictured) raises funds and volunteers for Williamstown Soccer Club, helping young members get to training, and coaching them. The volunteering, in turn, helps Mr Wah improve his English.
A research project, funded under Hobsons Bay’s community grants program, found that Karen people from Burma (also known as Myanmar), many of them settled in Laverton and Wyndham, felt isolated because of lack of English skills.
Yet their desire to help out in the community is strong. The project has resulted in the establishment of a community garden at Laverton and a project in Werribee Park where people can grow and cook food.
