As a child Lueth Garang Guot had to flee South Sudan and spent years in a Kenyan refugee camp before being granted asylum in Australia.

Key points: Ms Garang Guot performed well at school but struggled to adjust to Australian classrooms and learn English due to her childhood trauma

Ms Garang Guot performed well at school but struggled to adjust to Australian classrooms and learn English due to her childhood trauma She is now tutoring African migrant and refugee students to help them succeed at school

She is now tutoring African migrant and refugee students to help them succeed at school Edxcellence College Programme and Top Up Programme are also designed to support African-Australian students cope with tertiary and secondary education in Australia, but more support is needed

Now a primary school teacher in Perth in Western Australia, the 26-year-old has dedicated herself to helping other migrant children adapt and succeed at school.

Growing up in Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya, Ms Garang Guot witnessed the extremes of human misery, including suicide and self-harm.

"That will never get out of my mind — that is part of my childhood," she said.

Ms Garang Guot was 11 years old when she arrived in Australia with her family.

Despite having found safety she had traumatic memories and struggled to learn English at school.

"In my dreams I remember soldiers and the people who came to rob us for food," she said.

"I had anxiety and I started having panic attacks.

"I would literally just sit there, watching the teacher writing on the board, and I didn't even understand what she was writing or what she was saying."

A tutor in one of Lueth Garang Guot classes works on reading and writing. ( ABC Radio Perth: Kate Leaver )

Helping the next generation

Despite the challenges of trauma and migration, Ms Garang Guot performed well at school and is now a qualified primary school teacher and has been using her own experiences to make life easier for the next generation.

Ms Garang Guot now offers after-school tutoring for African migrant and refugee children in Perth's northern suburbs, and she can see it has been making a difference.

"With this little bit of extra support and mentoring I've seen these kids come out of their shell," she said.

"They tend to stand up for themselves, they talk to me and say 'I can do this'.

"I'm trying to give these kids a voice because I didn't have that voice to speak out back then."

When she arrived in Perth at 11, Ms Gurang Guot says she felt completely lost at school. ( ABC Radio Perth: Kate Leaver )

Ms Garang Guot believes that without education support, not only will these children struggle to succeed at school, but they will also be unable to process the trauma of what they have been through.

"If you're new to a country and language, you don't know how to express to others what you're feeling yet," she said.

"If you don't have education how are you meant to verbalise that?"

Navigating an unfamiliar system

Ms Garang Guot also offers help to parents, many of whom are also traumatised by their experiences and struggle to navigate the Australia's education system.

"This is affecting the kids' education," she said.

"[As a teacher] you might not know why that parent isn't attending things or coming into the classroom and joining the child.

"It's because they have their own demons, things they are battling in their own heads.

"My background means I'm very relatable to these kids, and for the parents, trying to navigate an education system here in Australia they might not understand."

Joe Tuazama says students are at high risk of dropping out of school if they do not get the support they need. ( ABC Radio Perth: Kate Leaver )

Joe Tuazama, president of the Organisation of African Communities WA, said support services like what Ms Garang Guot offers are essential.

"Some of our young people are struggling with school because they might not understand the way the teacher, who is a non-African, is presenting things to them," he said.

"All they need is someone, like Lueth, who can come along and help them to understand those things they are having challenges with."

Teachers do not always understand these students either, and these students are at risk of dropping out if school gets too hard.

"Sometimes in those cases they are made to feel as if they are dumb, and things become very confrontational for them," Mr Tuazama said.

"The next thing you see is they lose interest in going to school."

Mentors crucial to university graduation

While Ms Garang Guot has been focussed on primary school students Edith Cowan University (ECU) lecturer, Kwadwo Adusei-Asante, has founded two groups to support African-Australian students at secondary and high school level.

His Edxcellence College Programme is a free learning centre for high school students and the Top Up Programme supports African undergraduate students at ECU.

Dr Adusei-Asante founded a university mentoring program that has seen 90 per cent of African students graduate. ( Supplied: Kwadwo Adusei-Asante )

Dr Adusei-Asante said the Top Up Programme had been highly successful since it started in 2016, with 90 per cent of students in the group graduating with a degree.

"This program is especially effective for those from a refugee background," he said.

"We match them with a fellow African person doing their PhD or masters [degree] here and they become their mentors for the semester.

"They help with assignments, they proofread their work with them, and they help to understand university in general."

'Sobering' results of long-term study

Dr Adusei-Asante said there was an urgent need for more support for high school students, citing a recent study he did that traced the progress of African high school students over the last 10 years.

"The results are quite sobering because a number of them didn't finish high school," he said.

"The system isn't able to capture the needs of these people and they are falling through the cracks."

Ms Garang Guot says having a teacher who understands is vital to refugee children. ( ABC Radio Perth: Kate Leaver )

In a statement, the WA Department of Education said it was offering intensive support to newly arrived migrant and refugee students, including operating 14 intensive English centres.

"Students who are refugees are given additional time to start at these centres, if required, to ensure they have settled into school," a spokesperson said.

"Expert staff help all students who may have experienced trauma.

"These staff also work with health professionals and other agencies to ensure students have every support they need."