I heart my hood
This month we are launching the I Heart My Hood Project. This is your chance to celebrate your hood by sharing stories, photos or video. We really want to see and hear about the people in your neighbourhood. Portraits or videos of our neighbourhood champions, or the people that to you personify your community or ‘hood’. This year we’re doing it a little differently. To help focus (excuse the photography pun) we’ve chosen three themes.
1 – I Heart the History of My Hood
Everywhere we live has history, and stories. Do you know your hood’s history? Or maybe you know someone who has lived in the community for what seems like a million years, and know the place like that back of their hand. Was your hood the birth place of the women’s vote, or maybe site of the biggest lamington ever made way back in 53′ ….(Yes I know, random, but honestly we’re interesting in anything and everything)… By the way – this is also an awesome way to get our older ‘story tellers’ involved.
2 – I Heart Diversity in my Hood
New Zealand really has become a melting pot and that brings with it the rainbow of diversity of all kinds. Maybe you have the ‘united nations’ living on one street, maybe your neighbourhood pot luck dinners are better and more interesting than an international food fair could every dream of! We want to see and hear about it.
3 – I Heart My Healthy Hood
With our clean green image, amazing fresh foods, picture perfect outdoor environment, we know there are neighbourhoods out there that personify ‘health’. Is your neighbourhood or neighbour one of them? It could be through a neighbourhood walking group, or a ‘from garden to plate thanks to the shared neighbourhood community garden’ kind of thing. It might be a neighbourhood that has committed to getting the kids off screens and outside, or maybe its a whole street of cross fit power vegans ….. probably not … but you never know. What ever it is, we want to see and hear about it.
To enter go to our website and ‘share your story’
So get snapping and chatting. We have more information on I Heart My Hood available on facebook and on our website.
Here is a link to our first posting - I heart my healthy hood by Heather of Glen Eden. neighboursday.org.nz...
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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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