Variety of New Courses Develop Skills of Nelson’s Refugee Background Communities
From preparing potential drivers to providing guidance on “cooking the Kiwi way” to teaching the basics of haircutting, a variety of different courses are being held in Nelson to build the skills and capacity of the area’s refugee background communities. The programmes have been made possible through financial support from Ministry of Social Development’s Community Response Fund and developmental support from Settling In, Nelson Multicultural Council, and Ignite group, a team of representatives from the different agencies who work with former refugees in the Nelson area.
The development of the programmes began nearly two years ago when Refugee Services’ staff in Nelson conducted consultations with former refugees in the area about the kinds of skills and education they were interested in learning. “We had a meeting with the Chin community with Sui Ting Cinzah as interpreter and cross cultural worker,” says Refugee Services’ Nelson Social Worker Barb Whitaker. “Our goal was to find out what they wanted to learn and discuss the different issues they were facing in the wider community. By the end, we identified a few key areas they were interested in, and we’ve put courses together to meet those needs.”
The areas of interest included learning to cook for kids’ lunches, sewing, education around women’s rights in New Zealand, parenting in New Zealand, computer skills, and even basic haircutting skills. Earlier this year, an 8-week course on “Cooking the Kiwi way” was held for community members, giving them tips on preparing food for their children’s lunches and basic Kiwi cooking techniques. The most recent course was held in June and taught community members basic haircutting skills. Members of the Chin, Nepalese-Bhutanese and Zomi communities have participated in the programmes.
“The two courses we have done so far have been very successful, and after each one, community members have shared with us about how much they what they learned,” says Barb. Elizabeth, a member of the Chin community who attended the haircutting course, said afterward, “I have learned hand and scissor coordination and not to cut off too much. Now that I know how to cut hair, my daughter will trust me to do this!”
For Barb and the others involved in developing the programmes as well as the attendees themselves, the success of the cooking and haircutting courses makes them excited for the other courses in the pipeline. “Now we’re focusing our energy on the spring term, during which we are planning to hold a ‘Positive Parenting’ course through a local kindergarten with support from SKIP,” says Barb. The group is also working on sourcing a course for children’s first aid and one that will help prepare former refugees for driving in New Zealand.
“These courses have been and will continue to be a great opportunity to provide former refugees in the Nelson area with the skills and knowledge they are interested in learning,” says Refugee Services’ Nelson Manager Gabrielle Humphreys. “They know best what will help them increase their independence, and we are very grateful to have community, agency and government partners who recognise this. Successful resettlement is dependent upon acknowledging the immense capacity of our refugee background communities and doing what we can to support them to build that capacity,” adds Gabrielle. “Programmes like this are a very empowering way of doing that.”