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.
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.