Jane Wallace has been helping refugees settle into the Ashburton District in her new role as refugee service co-ordinator.
Wallace, a social worker, worked for Oranga Tamariki (OT) for 28 years in Hawkes Bay and Ashburton. She was seconded to Ashburton and while with OT here covered Ashburton, Timaru and Oamaru.
Wallace said she liked Ashburton and felt like she belonged here.
‘‘I love people, I really enjoy working with a diverse group of people and want to support people to have the best life they can,’’ Wallace said.
Her change in roles has been a huge learning curve for her but she was thriving in her new role which she began in March this year.
Ashburton currently has 109 individual refugees from 27 families. Since the service started in 2020 there have been 53 families comprised of 227 individuals who have come to Ashburton.
In 2020 Kathy Harrington-Watt was appointed to the role and held it till a couple of months ago when Wallace was appointed.
Harrington-Watt as the first coordinator in conjunction with Safer Mid Canterbury established the services of refugee resettlement in Mid Canterbury.
‘‘She (Kathy) set up a very robust system and one I can take into the future’’, Wallace said.
Wallace heads a team of ‘‘very passionate and dedicated staff’’, along with 35 volunteers.
Along with Wallace there are two health navigators, two family case workers, and one each of cultural navigator, post resettlement co-ordinator, volunteer co-ordinator, bus driver and a housing coordinator.
She also oversees the multicultural council coordinator who is responsible for the migrant centre, newcomers network and the ethnic leaders forum.
Wallace works for the lead agency of refugee resettlement in Mid Canterbury, Safer Mid Canterbury.
‘‘I am enjoying the challenge of helping settle the refugees and support them as the begin their life in a new country,’’ Wallace said
‘‘The goal of each of the families we support is to own their own home and business and to settle and become part of the community,’’ Wallace said.
When a refugee arrives in Ashburton they go into a fully furnished home and the service is always looking for homes to rent and household items to furnish the places.
Each year Mid Canterbury receives 115 new Hazara Afghan refugees who are under the service for two years.
‘‘Some of them are ready to go it alone before the two years and others we need to support for a bit longer,’’ Wallace said.
The volunteers who the service are always on the look out for more of sign up to help families with a range of tasks like going grocery shopping, attending events, they become friends and in many cases the friendships continue after they have left the service.
Many of the ladies under the service are enjoying sewing including making their own clothes and Wallace said if anyone has a sewing machine they could give that would be very helpful.
The refugee undertake daily English lessons in Ashburton as improving their English skills opens doors when it comes to seeking employment and engaging with the community.
New Zealand takes 1500 refugees a year. They have all been officially identified as a refugee by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and Immigration New Zealand.
The process of coming to New Zealand and then eventually settling in Mid Canterbury is not a quick one.
After applying to resettle in another country refugees can wait a long time.
Sometimes it can be three years and even as long as 15 years before they arrive in New Zealand.
On arrival in New Zealand the refugees spend five weeks at the Te Ahuru Mowai o Aotearoa (Mangere Refugee Resettlement Centre) in Auckland.
While there they have health checks, learn about New Zealand and begin the task of learning English.
– If you would like to volunteer or assist the former refugee families in some way, contact: Wendy Hewitt 0272447127 or email wendy.rsvolunteer@safer.org.nz
