When volunteer Sandra Metcalfe walked through the doors of Interactionz she enabled a number of those that the organisation serves to begin journeys that would not have been possible without her.

When volunteer Ravi Prasad entered that same doorway, he passed on a set of skills that were unique to him, but that are now enriching the lives of several others.

“Two women we serve wanted to create a family tree, so Sandra came on board to assist them,” says Interactionz volunteer co-ordinator, Maree Hobern.

Sandra liaised with the women’s families to get the names of grandparents and then began the research from there. Over many weeks the original family tree idea evolved into visiting family graves and taking photos, to recording stories from older family members.

Today the women have a copy of all the information, photos and recordings, to remind them of the journey they embarked on with Sandra.

“Another woman we serve saw what was happening and asked if she could be recorded sharing her experiences as a child growing up and the Christchurch earthquake.

The earthquake was a very stressful experience for her, but the process with Sandra has helped her move forward,” says Maree.

“Having already helped a number of the people we serve Sandra was still eager to help others. She is now assisting two men to create a vegetable garden which will produce vegetables for the cooking group to use. From planting seeds to eating the vegetables, the learning is about healthy eating, cost effectiveness and having fun.

Another Interactionz volunteer is talented artist Ravi Prasad. He volunteered to work alongside several men to assist them to improve their artistic skills and techniques.

“These men have produced some amazing paintings, all the work done by them. Ravi’s technique for assisting them to learn has been to draw the same picture step by step, working at their pace and skill level,” says Maree.

“It is inspiring to watch Ravi working with his picture and the person he is assisting is totally engrossed with their own work.”

Ravi has also assisted with literacy tuition.

“With Ravi, people have learnt some basic literacy skills that they would otherwise not have had the opportunity to learn. This has aided them in participating in community programmes that require a level of literacy above what they previously had,” says Maree.

There are currently 26 people volunteering at Interactionz and providing assistance in numerous ways, from a small business mentor, book designer, working on art projects, scrapbooking, providing lessons in basic computer skills, providing companionship, woodwork, cooking, and providing assistance to a person writing a book.

“Our volunteers give their time when needed, every day of the week, including weekends. The time they give and the skills they pass on to the people we serve at Interactionz is invaluable,” says Maree.