Media release

New Zealand Red Cross

30 January 2017

New Zealand Red Cross inundated by requests from kiwis wanting to help

New Zealand Red Cross has been inundated by requests from kiwis wanting to help refugees in response to the events in the United States over the weekend.

International humanitarian law recognises that people fleeing conflict are among the most vulnerable people in the world. Most countries, including New Zealand, have undertaken numerous legal obligations to protect these vulnerable people.

New Zealand Red Cross strives to support people where the need is greatest and most urgent without discrimination on any grounds. This has led us to work with refugees in New Zealand and to support refugees and displaced people in many other countries.

“Successful resettlement has defined the kiwi response to an unprecedented global migration crisis that’s seen over 65 million people displaced,” says Anne Smith, acting Secretary General of New Zealand Red Cross.

“We’ve seen people who arrived as refugees enhance the communities they become part of, becoming volunteers, business owners, and employees who work tirelessly to give back to New Zealand.”

Kiwis who want to take practical steps to help refugees can do so in several ways:

• Volunteering as a refugee support volunteer to help support a new family as they resettle. Register for volunteer training through the New Zealand Red Cross website – www.redcross.org.nz

• Giving someone from a refugee background a job with employment being a key part of the resettlement process. This can be organised through the Red Cross Pathways to Employment programme

• Donating through the New Zealand Red Cross website to support our work with new refugees in New Zealand and our work internationally with refugees

• Donating small household goods (not furniture, but items like bedding and things for setting up kitchens) that will help turn houses into homes for refugee families. Donations of goods can be made at any New Zealand Red Cross Shop

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