Volunteer Spotlight: Dorna

Love to Learn – Remote Mentor

This is part of our monthly Volunteer Spotlight series – celebrating the people who give their time and heart to KLS.

This month, meet Dorna – a volunteer mentor with our Love to Learn programme, who spent a year meeting online each week with a 12-year-old boy from a refugee background. In her own words:


“I started mentoring through the Love to Learn programme in April 2024. Once a week, for a year, I met online with a 12-year-old boy. Just us, an hour at a time.

Most weeks we focused on homework – maths, science, sometimes geography. The plan was to support him with English, but he didn’t want to. He was always like, “Nah, I’m fine with English.” So I didn’t push it. We just worked on whatever he needed that week.

At first, he would try to finish early. He didn’t always want to be there. But over time something changed. I remember one session near the end, he was doing a quiz – something he could have done on his own – and he asked, “Can you stay five more minutes?” He just wanted me there. That really stayed with me. He didn’t want the session to end. That was the moment I thought, OK, this meant something to him.

He had a great sense of humour. Sometimes I’d be exhausted from the day, but he’d say something that made me laugh out loud. I still remember one moment when we were joking around and he suddenly said, “Right, time to focus. I need to get my education and you need to get your money.” I told him I was a volunteer. He looked at me like I was mad. “You do this for free? How many hours a week?” I said, “One.” And he just went, “You’re lazy!”

He used to say “with the power of friendship!” when choosing answers, like it was his little catchphrase. But after that conversation, the next time he said it, he changed it to “with the power of laziness.” I’ll never forget that.

There were weeks where he didn’t have homework or didn’t want to do anything. One time I was working on a circular economy workshop for Year 5 and 6 students, so I asked if he’d help me test it. He lit up. I think it was because I treated him like an adult. He gave great feedback, learned something new, and then asked me about it the week after. “How did it go? Can I see the final version?” That was another kind of breakthrough. Not academic, but human.

This experience gave me so much. I actually started mentoring before I began lecturing adults, and it prepared me in ways I didn’t expect. It taught me patience. It taught me not to take things personally. It reminded me that kids – especially those from refugee backgrounds – are carrying a lot. Some are translating for their families. Some don’t have space to study. My mentee didn’t have a desk. He’d be working in a cramped flat with people in the background. And he still showed up.

My motivation to volunteer came partly from my sister, who works with refugees in Germany. I’m from another country myself, so I understand how hard it can be to start over in a new place. I just wanted to be someone he could talk to, where it wasn’t all on his shoulders.

If someone’s starting as a mentor, I’d say: have a few backup plans. There will be weeks when your mentee doesn’t want to do anything. Ask other mentors for ideas. Share resources. And don’t forget to have fun. There will be moments – silly, unexpected, genuine moments – that you’ll carry with you long after your time ends.

I really miss him. We only met once a week, but over the year he left a lasting mark.”

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