Schools offer support to migrants
By David Hill, local Ddemocracy reporter
A Rangiora school has answered a call to help migrants learn English.
Rangiora Borough School has donated old reading books to support an initiate run by the Global Locals of Waimakariri (Glow) to teach English to new migrants.
Waimakariri District Council community development facilitator Carolyn Boswell said there was a growing demand for English language classes following the opening up of the border.
‘‘"It is pretty exciting, in the last year we’ve gone from one class on a Saturday morning to three classes catering to a different range of abilities.
"It highlights the fact we are getting more and more people from overseas and there is now a lot of diversity in our district."
She said the initiative came out of a recent Race Unity Day art competition involving the local schools, which was run by local Iranian migrants, Glow (formerly the Migrants and Newcomers Network) and the council community team.
The network runs free English language classes and was looking for resources to start up a new beginners English language class.
Rangiora Borough School pupils participated in the art competition and principal Shane Buckner offered some old reading books.
"Our involvement with the Race Unity Day highlighted the fact we can support local in these endeavours," Buckner said.
"We have excess stock through culling of our resources and we would love to see the books used locally.’’
He put the call out to other schools in the local Puketeraki Kahui Ako (Rangiora community of learning) to support the initiative.
St Joseph’s Catholic School (Rangiora) and Kaiapoi Borough School have since responded and offered some reading books.
English language and conversational English classes are run on Saturday mornings at the Rangiora Town Hall during school term time.
To find out more contact Carolyn on 027-2933407 or email carolyn.boswell.wmk.govt.nz
Welcome to Waimakariri
Waimakariri has the chance to step up its efforts to welcome migrants.
The Waimakariri District Council has been accepted into the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s Welcoming Communities programme.
Community team manager Tessa Sturley said the council would receive funding to employ a half-time facilitator over a three year period to boost the council’s efforts to support migrants.
‘‘There has been fantastic work done to date to support the migrant community, such as supporting the business sector and advising employers on how they can support their migrant workforce.
"This funding will allow us to build on that and to continue to support our growing migrant community."
The council established a migrant facilitator portfolio within the community team in 2016 in response to the growing number of migrants, particularly in the dairy sector and assisting in the earthquake rebuild.
The community team helped to establish the Migrants and Newcomers Network, now known as Glow (Global Locals of Waimakariri), which ran several initiatives including English language classes.
Since then the booming hospitality sector and the growing retirement village sector have been "significant employers of migrant staff", Sturley said.
Often the families of migrant workers had limited English making it difficult to find work or integrate into the community.
Neighbouring councils, including Hurunui and Selwyn were already part of the Welcoming Communities programme.
Sturley said the council hoped to get up to date information on the number of migrants living in the district, following the recently completed census.
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Hero
“I was born and raised in war. To be honest, those are not good memories.
I really like Iran, and I really miss it, but I couldn’t be myself there. Even though my family didn’t like my decision, I left Iran. I promised myself that I would do whatever I can for all communities, especially for the kids, so they do not have the same experience I had.
I studied software engineering in Iran and left in 2006. I went to Malaysia and stayed in Kuala Lumpur for seven years. I was admitted to Lincoln University to do my PhD here, but unfortunately, I couldn’t afford the expenses. I requested a scholarship, but they told me I had to be there for six months first. So, I stayed in Malaysia and did my PhD in network security. In December 2013, I came to New Zealand with a work visa.
It took me a while to connect with the Iranian community here. I volunteered with the Multicultural Council, SPCA, and community patrol, and I established the Christchurch Iranian Society in 2017. Before that, I started working on Radio Toranj, the only Farsi-language radio show in New Zealand.
One of the reasons I started organizing cultural events was to showcase Iranian culture. I wanted to show people that we have delicious food, colorful dresses, traditional customs, and our own instruments. My hope was to show people that we are not what you see in the media.
I am working to involve all the communities that celebrate Nowruz, the Persian New Year, in the Nowruz festival in March 2025. We want to share this celebration not only with our community but with the public as well. It’s better when it’s shared.
I remember the first time someone from Dunedin called me and asked, Hero, can you help? Something happened, and they keep declining Iranian visa applications. When I heard that, I felt insulted. We are still human, so how can they do that?
Through this journey, I’ve learned a lot. Every single day, people with different cases call me, and I try to share my knowledge and guide them as much as I can.
I have received several awards, including the Christchurch Civic Award and an Award of Recognition for my contributions to the community during the pandemic. In 2021, I established Canterbury Kia Ora Academy, a charitable trust. Through this charity, I can help other communities as well, not just the Iranian community.”
- Hero
View more stories, or nominate someone: @humansofchch
www.humansofchch.org......
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