For 27 years Jim Revell has quietly been making a difference in the lives of thousands of newly arrived migrants and refugees.
His work as a volunteer tutor with AMES Australia has helped untold newcomers to find pathways to employment or education and to build successful lives in Australia.
Jim tutors English language students at AMES' Box Hill site.
“I assist the teacher in class. I do a lot of vocabulary work. The teacher I work with is from Egypt, so I do lots of speaking in class so the students can get used to an Australian accent," he said.
Jim says he finds his volunteering work enjoyable and rewarding.
“I'm retired now, so volunteering fills in my time. And it's good to see the progress of the students I work with," he said.
“I've met a lot of interesting people along the way from lots of different places. I've worked with people from China, Japan, various parts of India and the Middle East, Germany, Italy, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Ethiopia, Eritrea and other parts of Africa. We also had group of Karen people from Burma.
“It has really been a window on the world. Also, I've probably worked with 20 or so different teachers during my time, and I've learnt something from all of them," he said.
Jim said he had forged special friendships and connections with some of his students.
“I have made friends with some of my students," he said.
“I had a Thai student who was a professional photographer in his home country. I also have an interest in photography, so we formed a friendship and we have stayed in touch."
Jim says it is rewarding to be able to make a difference in people's lives.
“I worked with one young woman from Vietnam who confided in me. She said: 'this is so hard I can't do it'.
“I told her she could progress and learn English if she just practiced. She took what I said to heart and a year later she was speaking English well.
“Another lady from China I worked with was lacking in confidence and afraid of making mistakes in her spoken English. But she was keen to get a job to support her family.
“I worked with her, and she eventually got a job in a cake shop. Box Hill is very multicultural, so she was talking to people from several different communities through her work. I think this helped her realise that everyone was striving to learn English and gave her confidence."
Jim worked for Australia Post for 25 years and was editor of the staff magazine.
His career has informed his volunteering and has given him a deep knowledge of multicultural Australia.
“I worked at the Melbourne City Mail Centre where we had 42 different nationalities. It was a real insight into multicultural Australia," he said.
Jim began volunteering with AMES Australia after seeing a leaflet in a local library, starting in 1997.
Jim is a migrant himself. He arrived in Australia from the UK aged 35 after careers in the Royal Air Force and the Royal Mail.