Auckland Refugee Graduation - December 2016

December closes out the year for the RYAN Training Centre Refugee intake.  The graduation took place 10 December and saw 6 more families join many other digitally connected whanau.

Their last session was re-empahsising to our new graduates the importance of being aware of what they click on and being just as aware what their children are doing.  Thanks to Constable Rob for his patience and humour in class.

Our guests for the last celebration of the year included MOE representatives Susan Gamble and Asmah Shah, and for the first time, Liz from Red Cross.

Congratulations to all of our graduates! 

Auckland Refugee Graduation - September 2016

Last topic in class before graduation, with local police officer
reminding students to stay safe online.

The newest graduates of the RYAN Centre intake enjoyed their celebration Saturday, 24 September.  The graduation was attended with representatives from the Ministry of Education, Red Cross and families of the graduates.

The graduates were quite excited, and although few in number, they were hearty in their thank-yous.  

Congratulations to all of our families - enjoy the fruit of your training and the opportunities ahead,

Our lovely translator and a new graduate.
In his thank you address, he shared "Just as we have been helped as refugees,
 let us do better to help other refugees that come, help the place that we live".

Palmerston North Graduation November 2016

WELL DONE!

Another fantastic turn out for our wonderful graduating families at Freyberg High School on the 26th of November.

7 families completed the Computers in Homes programme and were very happy to be able to take their computers home and continue on their learning journey.

Freyberg High School have been great hosts as always and we had such a wonderful time celebrating another successful programme.

Many thanks to Sonja De Lange from (Red Cross), Gina Gonzales, (Ministry of Education), Dave Clark (Icona), and to our wonderful interpreters and especially coordinator Deven Rai and Tutor Doug Strachan.

We all look forward to meeting with the new families in 2017.

NELSON

Well done Nelson refugee Computers in Homes programme.

This month Victory Community Center in Nelson hosted a wonderful Computer in Homes graduation for 16 families.

Our beautiful singers

What a wonderful evening it was with all the families completing the 30 hour Computer training programme at Victory School.

A special thanks to all out interpreters who have supported these families and also to Helen Taylor-Young at Victory school and Dianne Goodwin.

We were treated with some amazing singing, dancing and two very special speeches which included some poetry.

We know that these families will continue to develop their computer skills here in Aotearoa and we wish them all the best for their continued learning.

Cutting the cake

CiH Refugee Programme begins in Dunedin

There was much excitement at Carisbrook School today. It was the start of the first CiH Refugee class in Dunedin. The Syrian group  arrived in the city in April this year.  http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/79216308/syrian-refugees-arrive-in-new-home-of-dunedin

Palmerston North refugee CiH training 2016

Palmerston North refugee families began their training last month and have been working hard on learning how to use a computer and internet to be able to engage with their families overseas and also how to learn more about the people of their new home here in Palmerston North and New Zealand.

What a wonderful group of Afghan families.  We are very privileged to be able to engage and assist with their learning journey.

What's happening in Nelson?

TRAINING AT VICTORY SCHOOL NELSON

The enthusiasm and delight shows on the faces of the fifteen families attending CIH training at Victory School across August and September 2016. Di Daniels joined them during their first week to welcome them to the programme and explain the internet options, as well as to highlight the intentions and benefits of Computers in Homes as funded by the Ministry of Education. 

We think these are some of the best training photos we have gathered and wish to thank the families and trainers for their generous smiles! Thanks to the expertise of local trainers, interpreters and family liaison visitors from the Nepali, Burmese, Chin and Karan communities in Nelson, the families are well supported for the next steps in their resettlement journey in Nelson. Thanks to Dhan and Mary for their careful tutorage of the parents and the whole Victory team who take care of enrolments, child care, transport, refreshments and home support.

We could not do our work without you. The collegial friendships we have formed are truly treasured.

Training at Victory School - Nelson on PhotoPeach

WELCOMING NEW ARRIVALS TO NELSON

What a pleasant surprise to be at Nelson Airport to witness the welcome for newly arrived families, fresh from their 6 weeks’ orientation at Mangere Refugee Centre. Red Cross and Victory School support staff were on hand, as well as many of the current CIH trainees and other families from the Nelson refugee community, all waiting excitedly to welcome newly arrived families flying in from Auckland. There were emotional reunions as some were seeing family members for the first time in many years. This is why access to the internet and reliable hardware in the home are so important in the resettlement process. Nau mai haere mai ki te Whanāunga Rerenga.

Welcome to Nelson on PhotoPeach

Palmerston North Refugee Graduation June 2016

Another successful refugee Computers in Homes programme was celebrated in Palmerston North on the 25th of June 2016.  Five refugee families graduated in style as they completed their computer training at Freyberg High School.  Most of the families had little to no knowledge of how to use a computer and they all worked very hard to make the most of the training.

Thank you to Sonja De Lange from Red Cross for presenting the families with their certificates.

From left:  Dave Clark (Icona Tech), Doug Strachn (Trainer),  Adasullah Rezei (Red Cross),  Cr Adrian Broad (Palmerston North City Council), Gina Gonzalez (MOE), Sonja De Lange (Red Cross) Wendy Jochem (Associate Principal Freyberg High Scool),   Cr Tangi Utikere (Palmerston North City Council),  Burmese Family Interpreter & Deven Rai (Freyberg Refugee Family Coordinator).

We were very fortunate to have a supportive group come along to celebrate with all of the families.  

Resettled Syrian refugees talk of life half a world away from their homeland

Privileged to work with our refugee families.

Click on this link to follow the story of this family

Auckland Refugee Graduation - May 2016

During May the RYAN Centre in Mt Roskill, proudly hosted the graduation of 9 students following 30 hours of computer training that began in April.

The day was celebrated with families present and special guest speakers.  Dr Arif Saied warmly welcomed our in-house team - Dr. Elfadil Sabeil (trainer), Patrick Saw (translator and family liaison), Hameed Sharifi (technician) along with guests Susan Gamble (MOE) and Adel Salmanzadeh (MOE) and Celia Brandon (Red Cross).  Each of our team and guests shared warm congratulations, encouragement and reiterated helpful hints about the support available after the graduation.

Thanks went out to our wonderful team of translators who are present from beginning of training to the last dish washed after graduation.  There is something quite wonderful when you share something as a speaker,  that is translated via these wonderful team members.  You see faces smile and shine, you see the nodding of acknowledgement and you hear the sounds of approval.  Thank you again to the team of translators - your assistance is invaluable.

Congratulations again to our wonderful graduates and their families.

Guest speaker Susan Gamble 

Ready to head home with their graduation package.  Well done!

 

Wellington Refugee Graduation June 2015

On Saturday 18 June 14 families from the Wellington Region graduated from the Computers in Homes programme.  Each family completed 30 hours of digital literacy training, both 'in-class' and 'in-home'. A big thank you to the e-Learning team of Tim Davies-Colley (Project Manager), Ibrahim Raouf-Morton (Tutor) and Peter Lynch (Tech support), who delivered another outstanding programme.

Gina Gonzales and Maureen Zaya (Ministry of Education - Regional Refugee and Migrant Coordinators) attended. Maureen spoke to the group in Arabic as a former migrant. She said when she came to New Zealand 15 years ago (from Iraq) she had a lot of help and Kiwis want to help - so just ask.

Graham Kelly as Chair of the e-Learning Porirua Trust, encouraged the graduates to make the most of the technology and their new skills, to learn and get jobs and Shona Te Huki (Wellington Refugee Regional Coordinator) also spoke to each of the graduates congratulating them on committing to the training and to make the most of what they have learnt during the programme.  Shona presented each of our graduate with their certificates of completion.

 This was another multi-ethnic group: 10 from Syria, two from Afghanistan, one from Colombia and one family (husband and wife attended) from Vietnam.

Well done.

Wellington Refugee Graduation June 2016 on PhotoPeach

Dundedin Refugee CiH Update

On 29 April 2016 Di Daniels attended the DUNEDIN EDUCATION HUI held at the Edgar Centre in Dunedin to share ideas and experience on how to best support the Syrian families who had arrived in Dunedin the previous week.

Speakers included:

• Pip Laufiso / Hassan Ibrahim Ministry of Education Refugee and Migrant team
• Julie Anderson- Director of Education, Otago Southland
• Keynote Speaker – Brent Ingram past Principal Hagley Community College ChCh
• Patrick O’Connor – Director PEETO- The Multicultural Learning Centre ChCh
• Helen Taylor-Young – Principal Victory School Nelson
• Mastura Abdu Rahman – Diversity Manager
• Sarah Denny – Director of Learning Communities – Hagley Community College
• Di Daniels – National Coordinator, Computers in Homes
• Ikran Ahmed- Bilingual Worker Hagley Community College
• Sumaiya – General Manager, Canterbury Refugee Council and Ahmed Tan – Chairman, National Refugee Network

Helen Taylor-Young from Victory School in Nelson and
Hassan Ibrahim, Refugee and Migrant Coordinator for MoE South

Auckland Refugee Graduation - December 2015

Before the Graduation Day had even arrived - the excitement was evident in many text messages and checking to see if the guest we had invited would still be coming.

How wonderful to arrive and find so many excited graduates waiting with their whanau.  The aromas of a barbecue Middle Eastern style was in the air and the wonderful feast that had been prepared was already laid out.  Congratulations to the 11 graduates.  You are all well on the way to being great digital citizens.

Thank you to our guests representing Red Cross, the Ministry of Education and Mighty River Power.  The highlight for our whanau was To'aletai David Tua, who shared about his immigration from Samoa to New Zealand as a child.  He also shared about his history with the Refugee Centre in Mangere.  To end his time of sharing - he told the graduates he would follow the tradition of the land and conclude with a waiata "Maori Battalion".  Who knew he could sing so well?!

Well done everyone - we wish you well in your endeavours and trouble-free computing!

David presenting the graduates certificates along with Helen Amituana'i (Mighty River Power)

Beautiful smiles!

She waited so patiently for a photo with David.

Auckland Refugee Graduation - September 2015

RYAN Centre Refugee Graduation - Class of September 2015

A hearty congratulations to our refugee whanau that graduated on a rather chilly September afternoon.

The graduation was well attended by whanau and guests that shared encouraging words with graduates.  Our guests represented the Red Cross, Ministry of Education, Computers In Homes and the RYAN Centre.

Thank you to the diligent translators and trainer.  Your services are a major part of whanau enjoying success.

I hope our graduates enjoy trouble-free computing and new projects for themselves and their whanau.

Working hard before the big day - still there's always time for a smile.

Wellington Refugee Graduation May 2016

Congratulations to all of the 21 refugee families that graduated on the 7th of May for the Computers in Homes programme at Porirua R.S.A.

What a turn out we had with great support from Porirua Mayor Nick Leggett who presented all of the graduates with their certificates on the day.  With this being such a large and diverse group of families e-Learning Porirua did an amazing job of bringing together the translators and trainers to run the first in home training in the Wellington area.

There were many happy faces on all of the graduates faces and of their supportive families.  What an achievement.  Now each of the families are able to connect with their communities here is New Zealand and overseas and support their children's learning in their local schools.

(Left) Well done Maria!  & Mayor Nick Leggett

Hamilton Refugee CIH Graduation March 2016

It was a very excited bunch of parents who graduated from their training at the Waikato Migrant Centre in Hamilton on 30 March. One family was unable to attend owing to other classes but we wish them all well nevertheless. The Colombian families were joyful and shared their enthusiasm with everyone present. Celebrations were joined by Hamilton City Council’s Philip Yeung and Jovi Abellanosa as well as Red Cross and HMST staff .

Many stayed on for an extra lesson with Di on password ideas and they all went away smiling. Computers are all installed at home already and only 2 families are awaiting the final stages of their UFB internet connections. They are delighted to be among the first to enjoy the new upgrade to 100GB plus unlimited free YouTube per month, all free for 12 months.

Hamilton Refugee Graduation March 2016 on PhotoPeach

The Cinzah family news January 2016

One of the earliest graduating families from Nelson 2006 has been featured in both the Christchurch Press and Nelson Mail newspapers for the success of their son Lal Cinzah who recently graduated with a Civil Engineering Honours Degree from Canterbury University. Lal is the success story in our latest Computers in Homes Half Year Report.

“The first Nelson Refugee Computers in Homes ran in 2006-07 and included the Cinzah family from the Chin Hakha state of Burma Myanmar. Lal Cinzah was just beginning secondary school when his family arrived in Nelson from the Chin state, where his parents had been teachers. The Computers in Homes programme had been extended to newly-arrived refugee families in 2004, with preference given to families with teenage children as these needed to be embraced into NZ education as soon as possible before they reached leaving age. It had been found that if effective education was not grasped by teens in this short window of time that they were leaving school with few employment prospects and little hope of a tertiary education. Lal’s parents participated in that first intake and welcomed the opportunity to learn about the NZ education system and to be involved in Lal’s and his 3 siblings’ learning. Lal worked hard at school gaining many awards, and although he was already fluent in Chin and Burmese languages, he said his challenge was getting his English to a level that would take him to University. He found the NZ education system very different from in Burma where the teachers would hand out material to memorise rather than help students to understand. He preferred now being able to solve problems and became interested in Engineering after excelling in science and maths. Since graduating from Computers in Homes, Lal’s Dad, Bual Cung (2^nd from right in rear of photo) has helped with secondary maths for several years and Mum Sui Ting was a primary teacher but has worked with the Burmese communities for refugee services for many years. They are very proud of Lal and say the whole community celebrates his success too. Lal now works for Fulton Hogan in Nelson and helps with the Chin youth group as he is keen to give encouragement to those younger than himself to succeed as he has done.”

Nelson Refugee Graduation October 2015

In October 2015, 16 families graduated at Victory School Refugee CIH. It was great to see 3 school principals turn out to support students and their parents, to celebrate with them and acknowledge their commitment to family education. Other guests were Erika Ross from Ministry of Education and many Red Cross volunteers who assist families with settlement support. Families’ countries of origin were Nepal, Bhutan, Chin State and Myanmar (Burma) and both children and parents gave us wonderful dance and song performances. The youngest Chin and Nepali performers were chosen to cut the cake. Thanks to our wonderful trainer-techs Dhan and Mal and to Dianne Goodwin who holds it all together down there for us!

 Nelson Refugee Graduation October 2015 on PhotoPeach