The Refugee Orientation Centre Trust
ROC NEWSLETTER
Sharing. Promoting. Educating.
March 2013
Special points of
interest:
 ROC Holiday Programme starts the year
off on a high note.
 Catch-Up Programme—What is it?
 Do I know the NZ road
code?
 After School Programme is up and running for Term 1—How
do I register my child?
 Volunteering, more to it
than an experience
Inside this issue:
Catch-Up
2
Road Code Training
3
After School
4
Human Interest
4
Community News
5
What’s Happening
at the ROC?
5
Snapped
6
Language Corner
6
Fun Spot
6
Volume 1, Issue 1
Mucking in the Holiday fun
Hola! End of January the
Refugee Orientation Centre
ran a five-day Holiday
Programme at St Columba's
Church Hall for children 5-13
year old. The programme is
run by Vivian Keane, Coordinator, Alice Stringfellow
and 12 volunteer students
from Rimbrook Study
Centre. The week was lots
of fun! It was a great chance
for the 33 children to
connect with others from
similar backgrounds. Some of
the children had only
recently arrived from
Colombia, so they
appreciated the chance to
make new friends, thus
helping their transition to life
in New Zealand.
The week was full of games
like sock hockey, King
Sardine and soccer. The
Water Fight between ROC
Trust Holiday Program and
the St Columba's Holiday
program was also an
unforgettable hit. Yarn
letters, puppets and vivid
stencils displayed the
children’s creative talents.
There was plenty of time for
drawing and painting as well.
Page 1 Sponsored by Refugee Orientation Centre Trust, McDonalds
as a volunteer leader, “I
Morning tea was always a
favourite, especially as it was would gladly do this again! It
so well prepared by the kids was wonderful! I loved being
themselves. Fruit kebabs and able to talk to each of the kids
pikelets were particularly
appreciated! On
Wednesday, an excursion
to the lake provided many
hours of entertainment
on the playground and a
chance to take beautiful
photos. The children
Holiday Programme children and leaders
2013
were always enthusiastic
and cheerful, with the energy about all their interests, their
to embrace exciting activities school, their family and
the leaders had prepared for friends, their home
countries.”
them.
A special thank you to Patricia
By the end of the week,
Guez who helped with
strong friendships had been
language translation and
forged between the children
transporting children. Also, a
and the leaders making it
big thank you to Marie Jeanne
hard to say goodbye! The
and Guillaume at ROC Trust,
volunteers left the activity
for making this opportunity
with a few Spanish phrases
available for the children and
added to their vocabulary.
the leaders. A big thank you
Soccer matches were
to St Columba's Parish and
memorable. It was a
School for kindly letting us
challenge for the leaders to
use their facilities. To all the
meet the standards of the
children and volunteers children. The boys played
thank you!! We hope to see
together like a band of
each other again in the April
brothers!
holiday program!!
Sari, from Auckland
thoroughly enjoyed working
Vivian Keane and Alice
Stringfellow
ROC NEWSLETTER
“I would gladly do
this again, it was
wonderful! I loved
being able to talk
to the children
about their school,
their family and
friends, their home
countries”
Catching-Up
The ROC Catch-Up
programme is funded
specifically for students’
Years 9-11 who have come
to New Zealand with
refugee visa status. There
are 23 students enrolled in
the programme this year
from Colombia, Djibouti,
Somalia, Afghanistan, Iran,
and Burma.
Catch-Up is a tutoring
space for students to do
homework, and other
learning activities. We
currently have three
tutors, and many
volunteers who are mainly
tertiary students from The
University of Waikato.
Class runs for 2 hours each
Monday and Friday
afternoon at Wintec, and
always starts with
afternoon tea. We try to
promote healthy eating by
providing healthy
afternoon tea, such as,
wholemeal rolls or
vegetarian pizzas. Fernanda
Arango, bilingual worker,
has been making delicious
fruit drinks using real fruit.
We hope students will feel
better after their afternoon
snack and be able to focus
better in the class.
Students then have
focussed work for an hour.
Each student or small
group is matched with a
tutor to help with their
homework or maths,
science, and ESOL
language learning activities.
The last hour is spent on a
class interactive learning
activity to relax and enjoy
before going home.
The focus for 2013 is to
keep the program relevant
to the needs of the
students. In one situation a
student had been to the
medical clinic and found it
difficult to communicate
with the doctor because he
did not know simple names
of parts of his body. This
was addressed in the Catch
-Up programme for him
when he did not have any
homework.
The Catch up program
Catch-Up Programme.
Mondays and Fridays
3:30pm—5:30pm during
school term.
serves a range of functions.
The relaxed atmosphere of
the program enables
students to practise
speaking, ask questions,
and to clarify cultural
issues around secondary
study. For some cultures
independent work is the
mode of learning, while in
New Zealand group work
is the norm. The Catch-Up
kaupapa is primarily to help
students with their
homework, but also aims
to develop confidence in
the classroom.
Jane Caldwell
The other part to ‘Catch-Up’
Tutors and students in the Catch-Up
Programme 2013
I had a student in the
Catch-up Programme
approach me one
afternoon and share his
experience of attending the
medical centre earlier that
week with his mother. His
mother spoke no English,
and his was still developing.
He explained his difficulty
in communicating with his
doctor why he was at the
medical centre because he
did not know the English
words for parts of the
Page 2 Sponsored by Refugee Orientation Centre Trust, McDonalds
human body.
I took the opportunity to
teach this student basic
parts of the body, such as
head—for headache and
stomach—when feeling ill.
In the next catch-up
session I provided the
student with an activity of
naming body parts to
complete and take home.
The student was very
thankful for the lesson on
parts of the body and has
since been able to
communicate with the
doctor more easily
The Catch-up programme
is aimed at helping students
not only with homework
from school, but also with
English in everyday life.
Leonora Houma
ROC NEWSLETTER
Do you know the NZ Driver Road Code?
Learner License training
for Colombians was held
at ROC over a period of
five days, 5.30pm to
7.30pm from 10-15
February 2013.
The majority of the
participants are new
families thus finding
English extra hard to
understand so the
Driver Training Road Code Class Feb 2013
interpreting work by Andrea
Jordan, ROC Bi-lingual
worker, is invaluable.
The Road Code is on line so
people wishing to get their
learners license can access
the Road Code training and
testing online. Some refugee
people coming to the ROC
Centre need assistance in
using a computer to access
the on-line programs, as well
as learning the New Zealand
Driver Road Code license
test.
The training was well
attended, with 16
participant. So far nine
people out of the group
have passed the test. The
learners are highly motivated
to get their license. They have
been dependent on a friend or
family member to pick up the
kids for school, go supermarket
shopping, get part-time work,
go to the hospital, get to
medical appointments and
ESOL classes and many daily
activities which are almost
impossible without a car to get
there.
For more information on how
to enrol, contact ROC office.
Guillaume Muzombo
Driving opens a world of independence and freedom
Now that I have
a New Zealand
driver’s license
“I am a free
woman now!”
One Somali woman from
the driver training
programme worked very
hard picking fruit at a part
time job but had issues
around transport. She had
bought a car to ensure
she had transport to get
to and from her work
place – a necessity as
work was on a farm out
of Hamilton. The
problem, however, was
that she did not hold a
New Zealand drivers’
license, instead she was
very reliant on her son to
drive her. This caused
numerous problems such
as being was obliged to
pay parking fines, police
tickets, and petrol costs
for her car on his behalf.
These ongoing issues
Page 3 Sponsored by Refugee Orientation Centre Trust, McDonalds
culminated one evening in
her waiting for 3 long
hours for him to pick her
up from the farm.
With ROC’s help she was
able to enrol into ROC
Road Code class and gain
her restricted driver’s
license. She is now able to
drive to and from work
herself and works full time.
Shortly after she met with
me and told me “I am a
free woman now!” She had
come into ROC office to
make an appointment to
help four other Somali
women who were battling
similar issues.
ROC is thrilled to have
been able to help but our
worry is the other 161
(and counting) other
former refugees who are
on our waiting list. ROC
recently entered Toyota’s ‘25
ways to say thanks’ competition
in an effort to win a Toyota
Corolla to address these
former refugees on the waiting
list. The organisation ranked
56th out of 518 organizations
nationwide. Unfortunately
ROC was unsuccessful this time
round to win the competition.
ROC would like to thank each
and every person who took the
opportunity to hear our story
and vote for our organisation in
this competition. .
Guillaume Muzombo
ROC NEWSLETTER
After the bell
Term 1 of ROC’s After
School Programme has
started for 2013! Monday
18 February was the
commencement of After
School Programme. ROC
has a roll of 15 students
ranging from 5 to 13 years
old; a mixture of boys and
girls. ROC provides a
space of learning, an
environment of creativity,
and a place of life for
children after school. The
programme is run twice a
week (Mondays and
Thursdays) from 3.00pm to
6.00pm. This term has seen
a great response in
numbers with students
from a variety of countries
of origin including
Colombia, Burma, and
Republic Democratic of
Congo. These students attend
After School programme
St Columba’s Catholic
2013 welcomes a staff team
Primary School, St Pius X
of registered teachers, and
School and Bankwood School.
volunteers.
However, a lack of ROC
If you would like to know
transport limits student
more about how After
numbers to attend the After
School Programme can help
School programme.
your child, or would love to
After School Programme has
volunteer please contact
to provide a learning space for
ROC Office.
refugee children to complete
homework, promote healthy
Marie-Jeanne Muzombo
eating, exhibit creative
arts, and socialise with
others. The ROC
specifically targets
students to focus on
maths and English
language in addition to
their homework. This
programme uses
After School Programme.
activities, learning games, and Mondays and Thursdays 3:00pm—
6:00pm during school term.
each student’s plan of
learning.
Human Interest—Volunteering more than an experience
“I recommend all
former refugees
to volunteer as
they arrive in
the country and
build up NZ
references.”
I had a refugee from Iran
come into ROC Office.
He was desperate to find
a job in his new home
country. However, he
could not get a job
because he did not have
any work experience in
New Zealand. After
learning about the ROC
organisation and help
ROC gives to refugees
the gentleman offered to
help as a mentor on our
Youth Mentoring
Programme. Over a short
period no mentee was
found needing to be
mentored in his specific
skill. ROC soccer
Page 4 Sponsored by Refugee Orientation Centre Trust, McDonalds
tournament, Jambo Cup, was
about to start again and I was
looking for people to help
coach a soccer team. Having
had some prior experience
with the sport the refugee
was able to help. He coached
the team very well, and loved
volunteering to work with the
children. After Jambo Cup
was over he applied for a
position with a New Zealand
organisation and was hired
upon presenting a reference
letter from ROC. He later
told me “I recommend all
former refugees to volunteer
as they arrive in the country
and build up New Zealand
references.” The volunteering
experience for him was very
positive with employment in
New Zealand as an
outcome.
For information on ROC
volunteering contact the
office.
Guillaume Muzombo
Volume 1, Issue 1
Community News
WOF: On 27 January 2013, the
New Zealand Government has
announced a change on the
Warrant of Fitness system for all
vehicles. New cars will not need a
warrant of fitness for three years,
after an initial inspection, and cars
registered after January 1, 2000
will have annual inspections
instead of six-monthly. Associate
Transport Minister Simon Bridges
said the new system would save
motorists time and money and
would also focus on road safety.
Minimum Wage: On April 1
2013, the minimum adult wage in
New Zealand will rise from
$13.50 per hour to $13.75 per
hour worked (before tax). The
training and new entrants'
minimum wages will increase
from $10.80 to $11, which is 80
per cent of the adult minimum
wage. "Setting these wage rates
represents a careful balance
between protecting low paid
workers and ensuring jobs are
not lost as the economic
recovery gains pace."
Water Alert: Due to the hot
summer weather combined with a
lack of rainfall in Hamilton,
Hamilton City Council have
announced a LEVEL 3 Water
restriction. What does this mean?
A total ban on domestic
sprinklers—only hand held hoses
are allowed. On Wednesday 6
March Waikato was officially
declared a drought. This comes to
much relief for farmers, in
particular. For more information
see Hamilton City Council
website.
Student Information: Studylink
is the government organisation
financially assisting students
through tertiary study and further
education. As part of the Annual
General Adjustment in New
Zealand Studylink payment rates
have increased as of April 1 2013.
This means the maximum
payment entitled to students with
a Student Allowance or Student
Loan Living cost has increased.
For more information on if this
affects you, and how, see
Studylink website.
What’s happening at ROC?
APRIL
8
After School Programme 3:00-6:00pm
Catch-Up Programme 3:30-5:30pm
MON
APRIL
12
FRI
MAY
7
17
FRI
MAY
24
FRI
MAY
31
FRI
Refugee Orientation Centre Trust
9
Board Meeting
APRIL
Budgeting Workshop 10:00am-12:30pm
TUES
Catch-Up Programme 3:30-5:30pm
Conversational English 4:00-6:00pm
Youth Mentoring Programme
TUES
MAY
APRIL
Catch-Up Programme 3:30-5:30pm
Catch-Up Programme 3:30-5:30pm
22
MON
MAY
13
MON
MAY
20
MON
MAY
27
MON
APRIL
11
After School Programme 3:00-6:00pm
THURS
Road Code (22-24 April)
Holiday Programme begins (until 26
April)
After School Programme 3:00-6:00pm
Catch-Up Programme 3:30-5:30pm
APRIL
27
SAT
MAY
16
S.K.I.P Parenting Workshop 1:00pm3:00pm
After School Programme 3:30-5:30pm
THURS
After School Programme 3:00-6:00pm
Catch-Up Programme 3:30-5:30pm
MAY
23
After School Programme 3:00-6:00pm
THURS
After School Programme 3:00-6:00pm
Catch-Up Programme 3:30-5:30pm
Catch-Up Programme 3:30-5:30pm
Page 5 Sponsored by Refugee Orientation Centre Trust, McDonalds
MAY
30
THURS
After School Programme 3:00-6:00pm
Next issue in June 2013
Snapped!
Room 2, 63 Kent Street
PO Box 5390
Frankton
Hamilton 3242
P: 07- 847 6968
F: 07-847 6967
E: [email protected].
Images of Holiday Programme Jan 2013—Vivian Keane and Alice Stringfellow
Language Corner
Join the sentence to the correct language
www.roctrust.org.nz
Like us on
Facebook
1. Hola cómo estás hoy?
(hola, cumo estass hay)
English
2. Hello, How are you today?
(hel-lo, how ar yew too-dae)
Portugese
3. Olá, como você está hoje
(oo-la, cumo vocee estass hay)
Spanish
Fun Spot
“Did you know
Hamilton has a
SU-DO-KU
Complete the table by using the numbers
1-9. Each vertical, horizontal, and square
should contain the numbers 1-9.
1.Who is the current Prime Minister of New Zealand?
2. Who is the Mayor of Hamilton?
very youthful
3
population - over
half of the city’s
population is under
4
7
6
8
9
7
4
7
8
8
7
1
5
6
4
2
6
9
3
2
6
4.The earliest recorded settlers to Hamilton were
from what waka?
3
2
5
30 years old.”
3.What is the largest industry in the Waikato?
5
1
2
5
7
6
5
1
8
5.Which Hamilton youngster was recently lined up
and won an award at the Grammy’s in Los Angeles?
6. What is the approximate population of Hamilton
residents?
A. 15.000
B. 500,000
C. 150,000
Language Corner—1. Spanish 2. English #. Portuguese Fun Spot—1. John Key 2. Julie Hardaker 3. Dairy 4. Tainui waka 5.Kimbra 6. C. 150,000 (2011)
Answers:
Page 6 Sponsored by Refugee Orientation Centre Trust, McDonalds