Volunteer visitor stories – Jacqueline and Monique

Jacqueline is a volunteer who has been visiting Monique for over 15 years. They open up about their friendship and the importance of sharing the same background and language.

03:00

Jacqueline: Hello, Monique.

Monique: Hello. [Speaking French] Where have you come from? I have been waiting for you.

Jaqueline: [Speaking French] I’m here, I’m here.

Narrator: Jacqueline and Monique have been friends for 15 years. Since Monique moved into a nursing home, Jacqueline has been visiting her as a volunteer.

Jacqueline: Okay, Monique, what do you remember about our first visit?

Monique: Oh my God, I don't know if I can remember but I have been knowing you for a long time. I have been enjoying your visits very much and I'm still very happy to see you to see you often.

Jacqueline: Happy to be here too.

Monique: Yes.

Jacqueline: But we've been together for so long, we're not friends anymore, we're more than friends.

Monique: Yes, that's true.

Jacqueline: Isn't it?

Monique: That's true.

Jacqueline: Because we're part of each other's family.

Monique: Yes.

Jacqueline: So we are more than friends.

We're going for a little walk, Monique. We're going to see if we can get a bit of sun. Here we go, Monique. It's beautiful, eh? [Speaking French] Do you see how nice it is in the sun? [Speaking English] Beautiful in the sun.

Narrator: For elderly migrants, having a friend that speaks their language can help reduce feelings of isolation and create a shared sense of community.

Monique: I don't have the opportunity to speak French with anybody here and when you come, we can speak together. It's wonderful because I can find myself back in Mauritius.

Jacqueline: It's beautiful.

Monique: Cap Malheureux.

Jacqueline: It's Cap Malheureux.

Monique: That's Le Morne.

Jacqueline: Le Morne, yes.

How would you describe me in three words?

Monique: In three words.

Jacqueline: In three words.

Monique: In three words, that's not enough to describe you. A very nice person, a very joyful person.

Jacqueline: The reason that I'm a volunteer because you are happy when we visit and I am happy as well because we gain things from each other. You give me probably more and you don't know, and I take it with me. I take it with me.

Monique: [Speaking French] ‘Taking tea for two’? [Speaking English] Oh my God, but my voice.

Jacqueline: It doesn't matter.

Jacqueline and Monique: [Singing French together]



Taking tea for two,

As lovers, it’s wonderful,

We chat happily,

What a delight,

Alone, the two of us,

It’s a fairy tale.

When lovers,

Take tea for two.

[Jacqueline and Monique laugh]

Monique: Oh my God.

Narrator: We're looking for aged care volunteer visitors in your area. Go online and sign up today.

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Jacqueline is a volunteer who has been visiting Monique for over 15 years. They open up about their friendship and the importance of sharing the same background and language.

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