I can hardly believe I haven’t added to my blog in nearly
two weeks. In that time, yes, we got our internet service (hooray), enjoyed the
Olympics, and spent a week in Auckland.
The details:
The week of the 17th was busy firming up details
for my Auckland trip, attending meetings in Wellington, and finding as much
background materials as I can. Dick and I also attended an opening for an
artistic change to a tunnel that goes between Lambton Quay and The Terrace. It
now includes birdsong of native birds as you walk through it. There was a
beautiful Maori ceremony and many hongi greetings to go around. A Maori woman
explained that this walkway used to be a beautiful stream (Kumutoto) down to
the harbor before it was concreted over. Now when I walk it I think about the
beautiful place it once was.
The MB is being very generous to help me with travel around the country to do my research. I can’t say enough good thing about Judi Altinkaya, my supervisor in Wellington. There was also a meeting with the other Axford fellows and a quarterly meeting of the refugee settlement staff that gave me some background.
On Sunday, we caught a 7:30 am flight to Auckland, so had the day to explore. We, of course, went to the top of the Sky Tower, the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere. You can walk around the top, getting beautiful views of the city and islands. For a mere extra $249, you can jump off if you like. We chose to have a glass of wine by the window and watch others take to the sky.
Later, we caught a ferry to Devenport and took a tour of that area, stopping at two extinct volcanoes. Auckland has 60 volcanoes in and around the city. Views back at the cityscape are beautiful from there – lots of pictures.
We were on the 23rd floor of a terrific hotel
with more beautiful city and harbor scenes. It was a beautiful place to relax
after long days. My work week was filled with learning. Monday I had the
excitement of borrowing a colleague’s car to find myself to the Mangere Refugee
Resettlement Centre (MRRC). I kept getting lost but got there eventually. All
quota refugees spend 6 weeks there upon arrival to NZ where the adults are
taught some English, given health screens and care, and learn some basics of NZ
life. The kids are divided by age ranges and have childcare or classes to
prepare them for NZ schools. I spoke for over two hours with the educational
director there who showed me the facilities, explained the curriculum, and
discussed changes that will occur in May when the new emphasis (employment)
will have considerable impacts on the curriculum. (I will keep the details for
my policy report.)
Books of the world
In the Intermediate grade classroom
Tuesday and Wednesday were a fabulous opportunity, as the
Ministry of Education (MOE) held its annual meeting for the Regional Refugee
Education Coordinators. It was a perfect opportunity for me to get to know all
of them (as they will be helping me set up meetings in schools, etc) and to
meet the senior manager for refugee education, Susan Gamble. Susan’s new boss
was also up from Wellington to hear from the coordinators. The set-up is
interesting: all the ministry main offices are in Wellington, the seat of the
national government. However, Auckland resettles the most refugees, so the MOE
division for refugee education is in Auckland (as is a sizable amount of the
MB’s division of refugee resettlement). As a result, of course, there are
certainly concerns that what staff and service providers know about refugees is
not given sufficient attention in Wellington, where policies are created. I
heard this in all of my interviews and meetings in Auckland.
Susan had everyone to her house for a delicious multi-ethnic
dinner – such great flavors and variety! Her home sits across the bay from
Auckland, right on the water, so the views were amazing. It was also an
informal occasion to get to know everyone better: Hassan is the coordinator for
the South Island (I will be visiting his region in Nelson next week), Abdi is
in Wellington (so I will certainly work closely with him), Parvatha and Adel
are in Auckland, Afat is in Hamilton. Another Abdi is the national coordinator.
Each has such a welcoming and warm character. The next day I was even more
included, as people had gotten to know me better.
On Thursday, I headed out again, this time to Selwyn College
(colleges are secondary schools). Selwyn
has become a hub school for refugee students. There are roughly 60 secondary
refugee students and 140 adult refugee students there as part of the 900 total
student body. They have created a early childcare center so the mothers can go
to learn English (some men also attend). I was there for most of the day,
observing and talking with staff about the positives and the challenges.
Pool time on a warm day
Stringing beads in the early childcare centre
An amazing mural painted by the secondary students
Detail of part of the mural
Back to windy (and cooler) Wellington. That warm, sunny bit
in Auckland was great. I’ve been invited to come back to Mangere when there are
refugees there and back to Selwyn any time. I will plan to visit another
refugee school up there later in the year. Meanwhile, gearing up for Bryan and Kat's visit on Sunday!
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