For many people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds, this year has been isolating — especially for those living in rural and remote areas.
For Fynn Chen from the New South Wales Bega Valley, she is hoping a new penpal program will improve her connection with people in her community.
Ms Chen is from Taiwan and moved to Bega from Orange in February just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic hitting Australia, making her transition to the area difficult.
"After I moved, I was really isolated," she said.
"I had no friends or family here, so it was pretty hard."
In a bid to improve her English and make friends, Ms Chen decided to take part in the Bega Multicultural Centre's penpal program.
The program has been officially launched and is designed to help non-English speakers improve their literacy skills.
Yai Veer, who is originally from Thailand, has also been taking part.
"I really enjoy when I have free time because I like to come down to the centre and meet people," she said.
"I really like it because it's really good to learn new things."
A boost to social connection
The program helps teach participants how to structure sentences and compose a letter, which is then mailed to a stranger who is also based in the region.
Bekky Bradley, who is originally from the United Kingdom, is a volunteer helping to teach the participants English.
She said learning the language was an invaluable skill to help adjust to a new culture.
"We're hoping as the program goes on, that they have more correspondence with their penpal and learn more about the area, more about Australia and more about life here," Ms Bradley said.
"Even just to have somewhere that has a friendly face can really help."
Aly dela Paz, who is from the Philippines, is the admin assistant at the centre and is also participating in the program to work on her grammar and vocabulary skills.
She said it was a great initiative that gave people from CALD backgrounds better social skills and more confidence in their writing abilities.
"It's not just meeting friends," Ms Dela Paz said.
"You will also gain better knowledge because you will keep sharpening your vocabulary."
