Thriving in Foreign Soil: Investing in our and their Future - Young Refugee Children Fulfilling their Potential

Authors

Ann Dysart and Sue Driver

Speaker

Ann Dysart

Organisation

Family and Community Services,
Ministry of Social Development,
Wellington, New Zealand

This paper outlines challenges and barriers faced by refugee children and their families in New Zealand, and presents what we have heard and learnt from working collaboratively with them and their communities through the Ministry of social development�s settling in programme. settling in is a pilot programme administered by Family and Community services, a service of the Ministry of social development. it is a community development programme that works in collaboration with refugee and migrant communities in New Zealand to develop and deliver social services identified as being needed by those communities.

Through settling in, we have heard that children and young people are best able to flower when they, their families and their communities are strong, connected and enriched. growing up is hard to do under the best of circumstances, with children and their families facing manifold challenges, both within and outside their homes. Refugee children have it even harder, as they must grapple with the additional challenges and barriers presented by the new host culture. equally, their parents must contend with the challenges of parenting in the 21st century whilst also establishing themselves in a new country.

This paper presents examples of the types of projects that refugee communities have designed to meet the needs of their children, young people and parents. it discusses the key themes which have emerged from the settling in work, which include the need for government to walk alongside refugees in their journey from disempowerment to strength, and the benefits which can result for both refugees and New Zealand as a whole from enabling children to reach their potential. The most important message we have heard from refugee communities is that process matters: in order to truly make a difference to the lives and futures of refugee children and their families, we need to engage meaningfully and appropriately with them when designing and delivering policies and services.

Biography

Ann Dysart
Ann Dysart is the Manager Community Relationships, Family and Community Services, for the Ministry of Social Development.
Ann has worked for many years mainly in government departments, in a range of roles from delivery of services on the front line to ensuring that policy development was connected to the people and places it would impact on.