Before joining L2P, Jaynaya simply did not have access to a vehicle and a supervising driver.
“My father had no time [for supervised driving]. We had no money for lessons,” she said. “I didn’t have any resources to be able [to learn] to drive.”
This also stopped / precluded her from accruing the 120 mandatory hours of supervised practice she would need to sit her licence test.
Despite the many barriers she faced, Jaynaya recounts her experience with a playful sense of humour. “How many times do you think it took me to get my licence?” she asked. “Two? Five? Seven? Ten?” Thirteen attempts, as it turns out.
“It got to the point where my classmates had this poster on the common room wall” (a tally of her attempts to pass a driving test). Whenever she would fail an attempt: “it would be like ‘what’s she up to now?’ and they’d cross off another one.”
It’s a story that speaks to Jaynaya’s resilience, and how she remained in good spirits despite the many setbacks she faced.
An important part of Jaynaya’s experience with L2P was her relationship with her mentor, Brian. She said having “a good strong connection” was particularly important when regularly receiving instructions and feedback from her mentor: “you’ve got to have that decent understanding [of] each other.”
She described working Brian as “a highlight.” “Its not only [only about] the program but [also] the connection you get to make with the mentor”, she said.
There was something familiar about Brian from the beginning: “my grandfather’s name is also Brian… so when I got in the car with Brian, I’m like: ‘this is just like …I’m sitting next to my pop’”
“But a much nicer version”, she added, playfully.
Brian has volunteered as an L2P mentor since March 2021. He previously worked as an umpire, coach and eventually transitioned to a career in administration and insurance. After retiring, Brian wanted to remain active and contribute to his community.
Brian says spending time with younger people helps ‘keep him young’. He appreciates the opportunity to work with young people from different cultural backgrounds, which has taught him more about countries around the world.
Brian is notorious for his playful exercises in helping learner drivers manage distractions and prepare for the realities of driving.
He would ask Jaynaya, “What colour is the car behind us?” to help her practice staying focused on the road.
When learning to drive, Jaynaya found reversing and parallel parking particularly challenging. The pair recounted going to a car park at Heidelberg Soccer Ground to practice, where Brain challenged her to undertake a tricky reversing manoeuvre. Brian frequently uses this location with his learners because its layout gives them space to build their confidence in a lower stake setting, without the pressures of a busy road.
Jaynaya was initially very underconfident: “reversing was so scary to me.” But after practicing with Brian at the soccer ground, she “never thought about it again.”
“Even after the first time doing it, it’s like, ‘Oh, maybe I can do this.’ It builds up your confidence and then you know what you’re capable of.”
Getting her licence has led to significantly more independence for Jaynaya. “I’ve been quite restricted because I haven’t had a licence. I haven’t been able to do as much, go as many places,” she said.
“Now [it’s] just simple little things like going to the beach on the weekend with the family. Driving down to Swan Hill more often. [Everything is] more accessible.”
It has also made a significant difference in her everyday living. “Just little things like not struggling with a grocery shop on the bus or spend[ing] $100 a fortnight on Ubers because I need to get from the grocery shop to my home.”
Having experienced the program herself, Jaynaya said she would “definitely” recommend L2P to someone else.
For Brian, volunteering is about being there as a learner develops their skills and eventually reaches their goal.
“You get to go on the journey, then you get the result and that’s when you feel really good.”
