Join us to help strengthen community services The NZFVWO is an active network of social service organisations. We provide a unique opportunity to be involved in strengthening community services and increasing the influence and power of the sector. Click here to become a member			Issue 12 – Sep 2005 New Dialogue is published four times a year. Next issue Dec 2004
New Dialogue is published four times a year. This full online version of the magazine is distributed  electronically via email.  A four page hard-copy summary called ‘New Dialogue Mini’ is circulated to 3,500 social service organisations around the country. Both are available free. For quick and easy subscription to the New Dialogue (online) or New Dialogue Mini (hardcopy summary) log on to: http://www.nzfvwo.org.nz/?/newdialogue
		Theme: migrant and refugee settlement together we grow  te ranga tahi * * Theme for Race Relations Day 2005 organised by the Human Rights Commission. The fern symbolises multicultural diversity in New Zealand and was designed by Malaysian born design student Jean Voon. Jean had approached the Commission two years ago and offered her skills for free because of her belief in its work. This is her second design for Race Relations Day – the first was the popular poster entitled ‘Take a walk in someone elses shoes’.
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Theme: migrant and refugee settlement 1 New Zealand and cultural diversity. 2 Funders and targeted funding. 3 New Zealand immigration facts 5 Volunteering to work, a trodden path. 5 Volunteering in Ethnic Communities 6 International refugee statistics 8 Tangata Whenua and New Migrants 8 Family and Community Services- “Settling In” Project 9 Wellington Somali Council 11 Talking about ESOL. 12 ESOL users – who are they? 13 Federation focus 13 From the President’s desk. 13 From the Executive Director’s desk…. 14 Comings and goings 16 Members’ forum: Training – your experience and policies 16 Community Networks - Wanaka. 16 Wellington Sexual Abuse HELP Foundation. 17 Barnardos New Zealand. 18 Sector news 19 Building leadership and capacity. 19 Sustainability – international perspectives and experience. 21 Let’s get in early campaign. 23 Comparative studies of the not-for-profit sector 24 Digital Strategy. 26 Taking responsibility for our kids 26 Resources 27 Conferences 27 Local news briefs 28 Diary. 28 Classified. 28
New Zealand and cultural diversity Mervin Singham, Director of the Office of Ethnic Affairs				Back to top
New Zealand today is more ethnically diverse than it has ever been before.  In 2001, 10 percent of New Zealanders identified with ethnic groups other than Maori, Pacific Island, Anglo-Saxon or Celtic, and it is expected that figure will increase. Ethnic diversity offers real benefits to New Zealand.  Some of these are obvious, such as people being able to experience a greater range of cultures, or New Zealand benefiting from the closer economic and cultural ties that new migrants bring with them. Others might be less obvious, such as the potential inherent in a population that is culturally flexible and accustomed to managing difference. Realising this potential is part of the vision of the Office of Ethnic Affairs, a Government agency set up to represent the interests of ethnic New Zealanders, provide advice to Government and promote greater understanding of ethnic diversity in the wider community. A key part of realising benefits is addressing ethnic community needs.  The main issues for new migrant communities are difficulties with settlement and securing equal access to services and employment opportunities.  For both new migrant and well-settled communities (those that have been in New Zealand for up to 100 or more years), the issues consistently raised are experiences of prejudice and discrimination, and gaining acceptance within the host community while still preserving heritage, language and culture so their children can value their ethnic identity within the New Zealand context. The Office of Ethnic Affairs is addressing these issues in a variety of ways.  The project expected to yield long-term results is Ethnic Perspectives in Policy, an initiative that encourages Government agencies to improve their services to ethnic communities, and include their perspective in policy development.  Another is a project to improve data on different ethnic communities.  This will translate into better measurement of specific areas of need across different groups. The Office is also addressing issues of host community acceptance of diversity.  To encourage broader understanding, it has produced a booklet of photographic essays portraying the lives of young ethnic New Zealanders.  This has been sent to every school in the country.  Using real-life stories and images, the aim is to encourage readers to see past differences in appearance or experience, to see similarity.  The message is that these young people are New Zealanders.  The Office has also produced a poster with a message promoting strength in diversity.  New Zealand’s increasing diversity presents us with enormous opportunities and some challenges.  At this stage, New Zealand is in a perfect position to realise the full potential of this diversity; both economically and socially.  Acknowledging both the needs and contributions of the sector, is one of the first steps we can take. For more information on free “Strength in Diversity” poster and Portraits: Youth e-mail: ethnicaffairs@dia.govt.nz
Funders and targeted funding Iain Hines, JR McKenzie Trust & Sue Elliott – programme facilitator				Back to top
Sharing the frustrations of many community organisations with the limitations of one-year funding when seeking to address social problems, the J R McKenzie Trust tried a new approach with our 3-year Refugee Employment Programme The Journey to Work: jobs for refugees.  We chose this area because it fitted well with our overall focus on people at the social margins; we were told that there were not enough sustainable services in the field; and it looked like there could be a role here for a modestly sized funder. We aimed both to increase the number of refugees gaining jobs, and to increase the knowledge of organisations in the field.  In all, six provider agencies and three funders contributed. An independent evaluation including feedback from the participating groups was very positive, even though not all the new services continued after the programme ended.  278 refugees got jobs and a further 120 were assisted in other ways.  Agency workers found the annual workshops very useful, in part because the relationships that developed among the groups allowed them to share experiences and learn from each other. One participant summed it up as, “More than one year, more than money, more than just us, more than mentoring”.  A further benefit was that the programme increased public awareness of the issue. We too learned a lot from this approach.  As we develop similar initiatives, we are budgeting more for ‘adding value’ – research, facilitation, communication etc – and setting longer time frames, than we did this time. (These projects still only use a small percentage of the Trust’s funds.) I believe that multi-year, multi-faceted initiatives can be an effective way for funders and provider agencies to work together to address social problems, and dare I say it, create positive social change. The Journey to Work: Jobs for Refugees Report Summary Refugees are among the most marginalized groups in New Zealand in terms of the employment market They have very low employment rates in the first  years of their lives in NZ and on average it takes a lot longer for them to get jobs than other migrants.   Assisting refugees and those from refugee-like circumstances into employment was the aim of a three-year programme funded by the J R McKenzie Trust. After the three years the programme found that: With 92% of New Zealand businesses employing less than 10 people, small and medium sized enterprises do not always have the time to assist refugees to settle into their new workplace. Further, negative attitudes from some employers are a significant barrier to refugee employment and some employers hesitate to employ refugees because of Occupational Safety and Health issues; both real and perceived. Barriers exist for refugees moving from income support into employment. In attention to refugee employment during the 1990s meant refugees arriving in New Zealand found gaining employment extremely difficult; even more difficult than it is now. The issue of refugee employment was ignored for too long, and was left in the too hard basket until the situation was critical. The residual group of long term unemployed in some communities can form a critical mass which influences the attitudes of new arrivals. Some staff in Work and Income still have punitive attitudes towards refugees, although this is slowly changing in some areas as W&I develop closer relationships with community organisations and others involved in providing support to refugees.  The minimum wage paid to many workers makes it difficult for them to move from a welfare benefit into work, especially if they have to travel long distances across Auckland. It is difficult for refugees entering the workforce to find out about their ongoing benefit entitlements, and then to access them, although this too is slowly changing as W&I employ refugee and migrant case managers. However there is significant work to be done by the agency to overcome the mistrust and the past negative experiences of communities Factors internal to refugees also affect their employability. Refugees often have limited knowledge of New Zealand work culture, career and work options, and very little knowledge of trades. Gender issues, attitudes to age and attitudes to time can all raise adaptation problems for refugees. Past experience of terror has often sapped refugees’ self-confidence and left them with little motivation or hope for the future. Lack of access to appropriate English language classes and poorly coordinated service provision hampers refugees’ access to employment. Too often there is little coordination between the approaches of TEC and W&I resulting in gaps in service provision and competing organisational priorities and approaches. Men and women face different issues. Women from cultures where they are traditionally disadvantaged in terms of access to education are also disadvantaged in learning English and gaining employment in New Zealand. Dress codes can be used to discriminate against some groups of refugee women. Women also find it difficult to go to work without adequate child care provisions. Young people who arrive in New Zealand as teenagers are a high-risk group and their needs require further attention. Resettling refugees in residential areas at a distance from industrial or commercial areas or in smaller centres without adequate support services can make access to employment more difficult, especially as transport costs continue to rise.
	Do you know? · Until 1881 anyone who arrived in New Zealand had been able to remain in the country. (1) · The first immigration rules were brought in under the Chinese Immigrants Act 1881. (1) · A study in 1985-86 showed that Pacific Island people comprised only a third of overstayers, but made up 86% of all prosecutions for overstaying. Citizens from the United States and the United Kingdom who also made up almost a third of those overstaying, represented only 5% of prosecutions. (1) · New Zealand’s population is in decline. (2) · Last year 33,229 non-New Zealand citizen arrived for permanent or long term migration. 18,121 New Zealand citizens left. (2) · For the year 2004/2005 the government quota for refugees stood at 750. A total 761 applications for asylum were granted. (3) (1) Te ara website:  Contains fascinating information and history of New Zealand immigration (2) Statistics NZ (3) Department of Labour
Volunteering to work, a trodden path Asoka Basanayake, Auckland Regional Migrant Services				Back to top
The Auckland Regional Migrant Services (ARMS) in Three Kings, Auckland and Manukau have been supporting migrants and refugees into settling successfully in New Zealand for over two years. It is very clear to us that gaining meaningful employment is one of the most significant steps new migrants can make towards settling in, being independent and becoming part of the wider community. However, this path is not always simple - one of the biggest barriers new migrants in New Zealand face when they look for jobs is that employers prefer prior New Zealand work experience.  But there are other more subtle complexities involved. Many migrants who move to New Zealand from overseas have issues about obtaining references from home countries when applying for jobs. Overseas employers sometimes do not possess the language that can offer a good reference; some cannot be contacted via email or on the telephone. Even time differences in countries could pose to be an issue. As a way of overcoming this barrier to employment, ARMS introduced a volunteer programme over two years ago allowing migrants to gain the necessary NZ experience. ARMS also tries to assist clients who face difficulty obtaining references by providing verbal ones when they apply for jobs and written ones when the leave. ARMS has had a continuing stream of volunteers who have been supporting the staff in many administrative duties such as reception duties, offering administration support, filing, data entry, website assistance and supporting events. Several other ARMS volunteers have been successful in obtaining gainful employment relevant to the experience they had prior to migrating, and some have been nabbed by ARMS itself! Gorretti Rodrigues came to ARMS as a volunteer data entry operator in the early days of ARMS. She impressed the team so much that they went out and obtained some funding from Work and Income and employed her under a Taskforce Green position. Today, she works as the Customer Services Officer/Administration Assistant in the Three Kings Centre and says that volunteering has offered her the confidence to move into a position relevant to her experience as a confidential private secretary. Another success story is Customer Services Officer, Fazilat Rashid who works for the Manukau Centre. Fazilat served as a volunteer at ARMS for over 7 months and gained experience as she has not worked in New Zealand for a fairly long time looking after her family. When the Manukau Centre was opened, Fazilat applied for the position and was recruited. Last year, ARMS held an event, Appreciating Volunteers Day which was attended by several friends of ARMS including Foreign Minister Phil Goff and ARMS board members. ARMS will continue to assist, support its volunteer staff and appreciates their valuable contribution that has contributed to the immense success of the organisation. ARMS currently has a bi-monthly volunteer training programme where aspiring volunteers are trained during by current staff who talk about the organisation, different services offered, staff and what they do, expectations etc. An information kit for all trainee volunteers is provided and trainees are expected to follow an on-site induction training. All volunteers have a one month trial period after which there is an appraisal. ARMS Regional Administrator, Connie Zhu co-ordinates the volunteer training programme. For more information about our work visit: www.arms-mrc.org.nz Or email: reception@arms-mrc.org.nz
Volunteering in Ethnic Communities Sheryn Elborn, NZ Federation of Ethnic Councils				Back to top
The New Zealand Federation of Ethnic Councils wanted to know why members of ethnic communities were not volunteering to the same extent as those from mainstream communities and undertook a research project to find out the reasons. The outcomes of the research are identified in the report Volunteering in Ethnic Communities, a Dialogue with Ethnic Communities. The project, the first of three to date,  was undertaken by the New Zealand Federation of Ethnic Councils, with funding from the Local Government and Community Services Branch of the Department of Internal Affairs. The objectives of this project were to: Identify barriers to ethnic people’s participation in mainstream and ethnic community volunteering, Seek ways to overcome these barriers, and Make recommendations for the future. Forums with ethnic councils and interest groups were held in Tauranga, Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Nelson between June and October 2003. The report presents the barriers to volunteering  under the following  categories: Personal Matters – especially issues like a lack of language competence, low personal confidence, family commitments and lack of knowledge of the local culture. Social Factors – the perception in ethnic communities that there are “Kiwi ways of doing things” and that learning these ways is essential for people to be socially accepted in this country. Cultural Factors – cultural differences and differences in gender roles, family values and practices. Voluntary Organisations – the inability of members of volunteer organisations to relate to the needs of ethnic community members was a primary topic of concern for ethnic communities. Government Factors – changes in Government policies affecting the support and funding of volunteer organisations have meant that these organisations have had to make rapid changes and focus on core activities. Encouraging ethnic community members to volunteer is often not seen as a core activity. The full report suggests ways forward, one being to build capacity and capability within the Regional Ethnic Councils. In response to the recommendations in the report, the Federation of Ethnic Councils is embarking on a comprehensive training programme for its volunteers, the first step being the establishment of a volunteer co-ordinator within each Regional Ethnic Council. The role of the volunteer coordinator is to oversee the recruitment, training and retaining of volunteers.  The Federation values the work of its volunteers and knows that support is essential to ensuring that volunteers from all walks of life stay and contribute to the work of the Federation of Ethnic Councils. The newly appointed Ethnic Council volunteer co-ordinators came together in July 2005 for a workshop outlining their roles and responsibilities. The workshop was facilitated by Julie Thomsen and Pauline Harper of Wellington Volunteer Centre and Sheryn Elborn, Executive Officer of the Federation of Ethnic Councils. The Federation is excited about the training that is being offered to its members and realises it could not do it without the Support for volunteer Fund managed by the Local Government and Community Branch of the Department of Internal Affairs and the community who have been so supportive in many ways. The full report Volunteering in Ethnic Communities, A Dialogue with Ethnic Communities is available from our website: www.nzfec.org.nz
	Do you know? · By the end of 2004 the global number of refugees had reached 9.2m. · 6.5m of the 9.2m refugees are hosted by developing countries. · The total population of concern to the UNHCR reached 19m – these include refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, internally displaced populations and others. · Nearly half of the population of concern to the UNHCR are children under the age of 18. · About half the world refugee population is female. · Top 5 refugee hosting countries are Iran, Pakistan, Germany, Tanzania and the US. · Under article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution. www.unhcr.org
Tangata Whenua and New Migrants George Clark, He Oranga Pounamu				Back to top
For some time now He Oranga Pounamu and Family and Community Services, Ministry Of Social Development have been collaborating on the development of training assistance that would meet the identified need of Refuge and Migrant Communities. He Oranga Pounamu is a Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu mandated Health and Social Service broker organization and as such has accepted the responsibility to provide training services to new settlers into the Ngai Tahu rohe. Ngai Tahu is a major iwi located in Te Wai Pounamu, (the South Island) of New Zealand. To be successful it was important that this initiative had the full support of Mark Solomon, Kaiwhakahaere of Te Rununga o Ngai Tahu. Mark has been instrumental in supporting the development of the Intercultural Assembly in Canterbury and has long encouraged the need for enhancement of the relationship between Tangata Whenua /Mana Whenua and new settlers to New Zealand. Mark has often emphasized the parallel experiences and circumstances that are often shared by Maori and new settlers as first nation peoples of their country of origin and has championed increased support for new settlers living in the Ngai Tahu rohe. He Oranga Pounamu has picked up this mantle from Mark and has actively supported the Ministry of Social Development’s Family and Community Services “Settling In” initiative. Through He Oranga Pounamu’s engagement with new settlers many points of similarity and shared experience have emerged which have been instrumental in assisting understanding and learning in the training environment. For Example: English as a second language, low socio-economic capacity and  institutional barriers Similar whanau based cultural approaches to community interaction and learning A shared understanding of the issues facing first nations peoples (e.g. the colonisation experience) He Oranga Pounamu were contracted initially to deliver five CPM training workshops specifically for refugee and migrant communities. He Oranga Pounamu has a training unit attached to their organisation and delivers a raft of management and capacity building community based training. Through the delivery of training programs He Oranga Pounamu has been able to: Ensure a Tangata Whenua/Mana Whenua engagement with new settlers in New Zealand Develop relationships with a wide range of diverse communities Provide management support and training opportunities to  help strengthen organisational and refugee and migrant community capacity often in similar ways to development issues that have faced the Maori community over time Support and encourage refugee and migrant communities to access Maori Service providers where appropriate (often an enhanced cultural understanding of circumstances and needs) Educate New Settlers through practical cultural engagement in the role and status of Tangata  Whenua/ Mana Whenua in a New Zealand bi-cultural context It has been a very rewarding and encouraging experience being involved in this initiative. He Oranga Pounamu, through the dynamic leadership of its Chief Executive Officer  Fiona Pimm, is committed to supporting new settlers as long as there is a need and the organisation can continue to add value to the new settler experience.
Family and Community Services- “Settling In” Project Peter Edgerton and Eru Waiti, He Oranga Pounamu Training Unit				Back to top
This innovative project resulted from the work being undertaken by Ann Dysart, Manager, Community Relations, Family and Community Services, Ministry Of Social Development and Ngai Tahu through its subsidiary community wellbeing organization He Oranga Pounamu. This training package was provided in response to identified skill gaps within refugee and migrant associations and communities.  In particular, a lack of knowledge of good project planning practice and the identification of critical tasks required to successfully complete activities and projects. Many groups who had received minimal government or local government funding in the past – often none at all – had very little skill in writing clear and concise funding applications. These skill gaps hindered many refugee and migrant communities’ ability to undertake their own community development activities. The initial training courses focused on developing participants ability to develop and use sound project planning techniques. This resulted in the Critical Path Method (CPM) project planning training being funded by the Ministry of Social Development, Family and Community Services and delivered under contract by He Oranga Pounamu. Critical Path Method (CPM) project planning teaches how to understand the objectives of a project and define the outcomes to be achieved. By understanding the risks involved and establishing a clear ownership of a project, groups are able to then agree to a plan of action with identified activities and times frames and assign roles and responsibilities. This type of project planning is visual, collaborative and consultative; aspects of community development that many ethnic communities relate to easily. Participants additionally learn how to manage risk and produce deliverables on time, within budget and to agreed quality. This helps when managing the expectations of stakeholders (wider community and funders). To date, approximately one hundred Migrants and Refugees from sixteen different ethnic communities have completed this training. Further contracts between Ministry Of Social Development and He Oranga Pounamu to continue and expand this work are currently being negotiated. Delivering this Project Planning training module to Refuge and Migrant groups has been a most rewarding experience for both He Oranga Pounamu and its training staff of Peter Edgerton and Eru Waiti. They found that, without exception, those attending the training  have taken this information on board and anecdotal feedback from the respective communities involved state they have started benefiting from the use of these new skills. Recognition and tribute must also be made to the different communities who gave support by way of translation and hands on help in order to progress the training. Also the work put in by Jenny Janif, from Auckland and Claire Phillips from Christchurch , both members of Ann Dysart’s team who worked tirelessly with community groups to organize the training programs within their respective areas. As to the future, follow up work needs to take place in order that skills leaned are turned into practice. In many cases this is already happening. Also participants have identified an ongoing need for training in a wide range of subjects and feel that a Training Needs Analysis within the Refuge and Migrant communities would be of value. He Oranga Pounamu has a wide range of excellent training modules available and highly motivated and qualified staff to deliver them. In conclusion some comments and reflections from course participants: “One of the most worthwhile courses I have attended. Totally relevant to the area of work I am in and great tool to use in the future. Thanks for the opportunity”. “It has been a good opportunity for us to reduce misunderstandings between community and funders” “This will definitely make handling our projects simpler” “I have enjoyed the cultural aspect to the training…for years I never had the opportunity to speak or work with Maori people…..I wish I had known the things I have learnt over the past few days when I first arrived here” “No one has taken the opportunity to give us this information before…I am very grateful to the Ministry of Social Development for thinking of us…” “This will benefit the community in a great way.  It will help us to submit funding applications to other funding agencies in future”. “It is of great benefit to my community.  We can now do proposals for funds that are well planned”. “I never knew how to plan properly before and will use this in the future for any project we do” “I feel obliged to do what I have studied which I am happy to do.  “This information I will take back to my community” “Project Planning is an excellent management tool. I thought the techniques will enrich my skills for planning my projects”.
Wellington Somali Council Adam Awad, Wellington Somali Council				Back to top
The Wellington Somali Council is a community based organisation that runs community development initiatives to promote the welfare, culture, and positive integration of Somali people in Wellington.  Our organisation also has a strong focus on providing opportunities to enhance the social, educational and recreational achievements of all young people from refugee backgrounds. The Council was formed in November 2003 by the amalgamation of three different clan based Somali organisations.  For Somali in Wellington, we understood that our strength is in unity.  We are continually working to come together across clan, religious and ethnic based divides.  As the Council is one of the only functioning community based organisations for refugees in Wellington, we look to be a positive role model for other communities wanting to provide support and proactive services to their own people.   We work in three main areas; communications and advocacy, youth development, and healthy families.  Initially we began by providing services just for Somali, initiatives like the Elderly Somali women’s spa group, Somali Radio on Access 783AM, Somali Boys Camp and soccer activities for Somali youth.  However the challenges that other refugee communities face are very similar, so we have branched out into pan-refugee community services.  We are involved in running youth leadership camps and activities, the ethnic youth homework club, refugee youth holiday programme, health promotion and awareness raising across communities, fostering the development of the Changemakers Refugee Forum, and co-ordinating the community consultation for the Regional Refugee Health and Well-being Action Plan. Our organisation is only young –  in the last two years establishing and building the capacity of our organisation to deliver projects that respond to the needs of Somali people have been our key achievements.  Building trust and partnerships with government and NGO’s and within refugee communities have been practical and very necessary achievements. On a project level, fostering the development of the Changemakers Refugee Forum is significant development.  Changemakers is a pan-refugee community group, that advocates for refugee communities and looks to provide action focused projects for communities. There is real goodwill amongst the communities in Wellington to work together, and this holds exciting possibilities for the future. Our biggest challenge at the moment is to secure an accessible space to carry out our projects.  The journeys that many of our community have faced in coming to New Zealand have been difficult; we now need to retain our own cultural identity while building positive relationships with the host community.  The challenges are huge, and providing a community space for African and/or refugee communities is key to improving these circumstances. Having a place we can be proud of, developing a sense of belonging, and a place to call home in New Zealand communities is essential.  Making this dream a reality means securing on-going core funding, and working with our own and other refugee communities to build their capacity. As a former refugee, I know the importance of having a community and a strong sense of belonging to this country are of great importance.  We are proud to be New Zealanders, and we are proud to be Somali. Our message to ordinary New Zealanders out there is to embrace the richness in cultural diversity, celebrate our commonalities, and try to listen and understand one another better.
Talking about ESOL Maria McDonald, ESOL, Home Tutor Scheme				Back to top
The name may be a bit of a mouthful, but the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Home Tutor Schemes have been providing English tutoring and settlement support for refugees and migrants for over 30 years. The Scheme had its humble beginnings when untrained volunteers came forward to help Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees arriving in Wellington. Today 23 member schemes around the country provide services ranging from personalised home tutoring to help with settling in and finding jobs. Home Tutor Scheme services are available to adult refugees and migrants who are permanent New Zealand residents, generally for people who are quite marginalised - they often can’t afford any other type of training; don’t have transport or are elderly or unwell. Many are homemakers who find it difficult to get out to classes as they have young children. We’ve got set criteria for determining who should have a home tutor, and the top priority is given to refugees. Tutors receive 60 hours of training all together. There is a 20 hour face-to-face course with assignments, and a six week tutoring assignment where they do lesson plans and their tutoring work is monitored. So they do the preparation, the write-up and then have a follow-up training session. But a lot of our learners also become tutors - it’s fantastic when that happens. Some of them then sit on our committees or become co-ordinators. A bilingual tutor brings a cultural perspective which the native English tutor doesn’t have, and can iron out small problems and explain things very quickly - they often know the question before it’s been asked! All sessions are tailored to the individual’s needs. The home tutor will look at the student’s daily routine. They will help the student identify the sort of people, doctors, teachers, shop assistants, they are likely to meet in their daily life, the sort of places that they are likely to have to go. Then they talk the student through each situation. The lessons are designed around this technique. But nothing is followed rigidly. Often things just come up, like a form that comes from school or a letter from a power company. These become part of a lesson. We try to be as practical and helpful as we can. So even if a tutor has planned a wonderful theme or a topic, they always have to be ready to change the topic and go with the moment. Home tutoring is very much about going with the moment and the challenges of the day. There’s lots of useful information about our courses on our website and a handy site map you can use to locate services in your area. If you don’t have access to the internet, call 0800 367 376  and our national office will put you in touch with someone locally. www.esolht.org.nz
	Do you know? · Nearly 8,000 new migrants/refugees have used ESOL Home Tutor Schemes. · Over 70% of migrants/refugees using the service were female. · 32% of migrants using the service were homemakers, and nearly 10% were full-time workers. · 21% were unemployed. · Nearly 50% of migrants/refugees were referred to the service by another migrant/refugee. Source: Annual Report: ESOLHome Tutor Schemes (2003)
Federation focus
From the President’s desk Judith Hoban, President NZFVWO				Back to top
We have just witnessed arguably one of the most crucial elections in recent times. While history will prove or dispute that perception, an election nevertheless encourages the sector to evaluate where we sit on the list of priorities facing politicians. To gain insight to this, we should ask ourselves how often were we mentioned in recent election speeches, interviews, and campaign materials? How highly ranked will those politicians be who take responsibility for the voluntary sector related departments? Will recently elected politicians respect and salute our contribution to the well being and health of the country, or rather take for granted the immeasureable value which voluntary welfare organisations add to the quality of New Zealand life? Sadly, the simple reality is that the sector is too often taken for granted and we ourselves miss opportunities to wave our own flag, to promote who and what we are and what we offer. That is why two projects in which the Federation has featured are so important now, and in the coming months whilst the new government takes shape. The first of course is VAVA, launched at the 2004 AGM. VAVA revealed the enormous value of the contributions ten national agencies add to New Zealand’s social well being and the economy.  The services provided are essential social services which support government objectives – whichever party may be in power. How would New Zealand react if these agencies stopped operating or began operating as commercial enterprises and charged for all of the services they currently provide? The second project is COmVOiceS launched recently to actively promote and publicise sector issues.  Your Federation is actively engaged in this exciting initiative, the brainchild of our Vice President Andrea Goble of Funding Information Service and of Petra van den Munckhof of Healthcare Aotearoa.   They used vision and determination to foster and grow the idea and it’s now evolving into a valuable tool for member groups. As the country prepares for some new faces in the political arena, so too is the Federation – our AGM  held earlier this week saw the retirement of two Executive members.  We have valued the input and expertise Marjorie Te Maari Joe and Karen Roberts have brought to our endeavours.  We warmly acknowledge their contributions and efforts on behalf of The Federation and wish them both well. We are a small group, geographically widespread, representing a wide cross section of the membership.  Last year we agreed to work with a smaller number of Executive members, a decision which at times created logistic difficulties (especially when airports became fog bound or members were out of the country).  For the future we have agreed to work more closely to the limit of eleven members as allowed by the constitution. I have every confidence that the incoming Executive will continue to advance an effective voluntary welfare sector with as much passion and drive as the current group has done, ever mindful of our member organisations and the tens of thousands of people for whom we advocate. Further information: VAVA: www.nzfvwo.org.nz/files/file/VAVAreport.pdf New Executive: http://www.nzfvwo.org.nz/?/exec
From the Executive Director’s desk… Tina Reid, Executive Director NZFVWO				Back to top
He Waka Kotuia report of the Community-Government Relationship Steering Group (August 2002) sets strong themes for development and strengthening of the sector – which are useful to revisit as we experience electioneering and start to consider relationships with a new government. This report (available on www.msd.govt.nz/voluntary.html) sets 5 key themes for strengthening the community sector: · to build a common sense of identity and purpose · to establish a recognised place in society · to build and maintain sustainable organisations · to encourage and support Treaty-based practice at all levels · to ensure the community sector is community driven These are all dear to our hearts at the Federation. As part of our work on these issues we have put considerable effort into a new project aimed at creating a higher profile for the sector. We are part of COmVOiceS a working group with six other national organisations (including the Community Sector Taskforce) to develop communications about achievements and the value of the community and voluntary sector. We have designed this as an initial six month project, so that at the end of the year we can evaluate how it’s gone, and review options for it continuing further. We have identified common issues which can be promoted through a range of mechanisms on both local and national levels. These underpin more specific work that each agency does to promote its own issues and causes. The core issues we have identified as important are · Funding and sustainability of voluntary organisations · The value, scale and scope of the sector · the independence of the sector We are involved in activities across several fronts to promote these messages. Over the last month we have sought meetings with all political parties to discuss their policies in relation to the sector - we have had interesting conversations with all but NZ First, which we intend to follow up once a new government is formed. It has been useful to focus them on thinking about valuing the sector as a whole, and the general issues which emerged are; · the value of a Minister of the Community & Voluntary sector having other relevant portfolios · Issues around taxation mechanisms, particularly imputation credits and gifting · Recognition of concerns about levels of compliance and funding sustainability We have also interviewed several agencies to provide case studies about their experience of these issues. These are being promoted to mainstream media as a way of getting positive publicity about the breadth and achievements of the sector. This has begun to have some modest success, and we are interested in further ‘good news’ stories. We have made a number of press releases, started to actively monitor media coverage and had a practise session on media skills – so we are all better prepared for those unexpected and curly calls. We will be regularly sending out updates to keep organisations informed of our progress and build interest and involvement in the project. We would like to hear from interested organisations; especially in regard to: · More case studies · Support and ideas for the project · To receive our updates · Opportunities for local or national media coverage. Participating agencies are: NZ Federation of Voluntary Welfare Organisations, Funding Information Service,  Community Sector Taskforce, Healthcare Aotearoa,  Philanthropy NZ,  NZ Council of Social Services, NGO / Ministry of Health Forum Further COmVOiceS information: www.nzfvwo.org.nz/files/file/comvoices.htm
Comings and goings Keeping in touch with changes for NZFVWO Members				Back to top
· Kerry Dalton has started as CEO at the National Association of CAB , replacing  Nick Toonen. Sam Huggard has given his notice as manager at the Dunedin Volunteer Centre The Forum of Co-operative Ventures has had a name change to United Congregations of Aotearoa/NZ We welcome the National Heart Foundation and Waitakere Community law Centre as new members to NZFVWO – we look forward to our association with you.
Members’ forum: Training – your experience and policies
Every issue, we ask a number of our members their opinion on a topical issue. In this month’s edition we are asking three member organisations whether they have internal policies on training and the issues surrounding this; training they may have undertaken in the past and what benefits were gained from it.
Community Networks - Wanaka Shirley Boyes, Manager				Back to top
As small communities grow so does the need for more social services.  Community Networks- Wanaka aim to foster community, social and economic development by providing a ‘one-stop-shop” to the Upper Clutha district. Operating a little over 18mths the services are many and varied, from general resources, counselling, and youth work to acting as a satellite base for many statutory organisations. For us, access to training can be difficult as most training opportunities are set in larger towns. Even the closest venues mean that there is normally a two hour return trip and that is at a minimum. The further away a venue the more difficult it gets – if we were to take up a training opportunity in Dunedin we would be looking at two days away from the office, to Christchurch possibly three. Time constraints on small organisations like is mean that it is seldom that we can afford to undertake training further afield. Thankfully, Community Networks - Wanaka  are very lucky in that the Dunedin Volunteer Centre facilitate training days in Cromwell every three months at no charge. Still, we do have to cover the travel costs. To economise car pooling is something we use – which does have the advantage since it offers a small but good networking opportunity! Topics covered include supervision, mediation, Charities Bill, being a volunteer, legal & employment issues, job descriptions, contracts and performance appraisals. Some topics have proved so beneficial they have been requested to be repeated. For some individuals this training can be a revision and for others a great learning tool. Furthermore, there is always ongoing support from the Dunedin Volunteer Centre, with either Sam or Ruth forwarding on training material via the email if requested. Without this training we would be absolutely lost. But we are the lucky ones. What about rural organisations for whom venues like the  Dunedin Volunteer Centre are still too far? Some very good training opportunities for the Central Lakes district have occasionally been cancelled due to lack of numbers, sometimes due to distance, sometimes because of time. A recent Governance / Management training workshop venued in Queenstown left many small rural groups, that would arguably have benefited most, unable to avail vital training. Community Networks co-ordinate and facilitate the Wanaka Interagency meetings every six weeks. We aim to have speakers at each of these networking meetings and share our experiences whenever possible. But even in doing this we face the added problem of limited availability of suitable venues: some are out for weeks as tertiary institutes bring conduct various geological courses associated with the area. Even at times when availability is not a problem, costs associated with venue hire can prove prohibitive. What we need are affordable Community Centres in towns large enough to cover all our needs for providing suitable training.
Wellington Sexual Abuse HELP Foundation Helen Sullivan, Manager				Back to top
The Wellington Sexual Abuse HELP Foundation is a small agency working to meet the needs of the survivors of sexual violence and their families. Our core services are a 24/7 crisis service for victims of sexual assault, a 24/7 telephone support service, social work support and counselling with ACC registered counsellors. All workers in the agency are either paid staff or self employed contractors. HELP does not have volunteer workers. While the HELP Foundation does not have specific policies on training it is an integral part of the culture of the agency that training is provided for staff. As Manager, I strongly support the concept that employees be encouraged to build and develop their skills for their own personal and professional development but also to meet the needs of the agency. Over the past few months HELP has been reviewing its service delivery and staffing needs and an integral part of this consideration is the resultant training needs that arise. There are several critical issues for us: Urgency: Regular turnover of staff on the after hours crisis service is a critical issue facing HELP. As any small organisation would know the loss of staff can inevitably mean a loss of institutional knowledge and expertise. Offering a 24/7 telephone and crisis service often means there is a sense of urgency when recruiting and training new staff. In addition, it is not easy to recruit staff with an in depth knowledge of abuse and violence issues so training in these areas is critical and is an ongoing need. Comprehensive Induction training: The challenge is to provide comprehensive training to enable new staff on our after hours service to work independently, competently and safely within a short space of time.  Induction training is therefore an immediate and necessary starting point for any new recruit to the crisis service. This training will include not only an induction to the agency’s policy and procedures but also the role of the crisis worker as an advocate and ensuring the worker has a clear understanding of the issues of sexual violence and the impact for survivors of violence. Ongoing training: Training is also an ongoing issue and vitally important in terms of retaining staff who feel well supported by a thorough understanding of the issues they may to face in their role and feeling valued by having opportunities to develop professionally.  Regular training opportunities for crisis workers are planned and budgeted for, however, as with any not for profit, financial resources for training outside the agency as well as implications in terms of staff time can be a strong limiting factors. An important part on ongoing professional development is also the requirement to attend regular clinical supervision. Supervision not only ensures safe practice but also provides a learning opportunity for crisis workers as they reflect on their practice. Accessing affordable and relevant training opportunities: While there are a range of courses available they are often too costly to send all staff to, or are not specific enough in terms of addressing issues of sexual violence. One way of addressing this is through collaboration with similar agencies. Over the past few months HELP has been working collaboratively with a number of agencies both within the family violence sector and with other sexual violence agencies. Out of these collaborative initiatives have come training opportunities which will not only ensure better use of limited resources but also provide networking and learning opportunities outside of the agency while still focussed on the specialised area of sexual violence.  Benefit for clients: In summary, what do HELP’s crisis workers gain from training? I believe that we will have committed workforce who feel secure in their roles. Further, HELP retains its credibility as an agency with expertise in dealing with issues of sexual violence. Most importantly though, are the clients who will benefit from the support our crisis workers can give at a time when they  may feel that all their power has been taken away from them.
Barnardos New Zealand				Back to top
Barnardos New Zealand has made a concerted commitment in the last few years to both professional training, and management and leadership development. “A significant proportion of our employees are tertiary qualified,” says Murray Edridge, Chief Executive of Barnardos.  “The overall strategy we have is founded on a professional service being delivered in both the early childhood care and education, and community and social work practice fields.  This means that we expend considerable effort and resource to ensure that our staff are qualified and registered in their respective fields.  This includes Barnardos paying for a proportion of their development and professional registration, time off work to attend courses, study and sit exams and have other staff act as mentors and guidance supervisors. For staff working in management and leadership roles, the organisation has introduced two key programmes which will run in alternate years.  Last year, we ran a programme for 18 individuals who we see as potential strategic and senior managers.  Through the expert facilitation of an external organisation called ChangeWorks, they were led through a five month programme which sought to develop the individuals’ understanding of themselves and their skills in relation to leadership.  Each individual also had an external coach to question and challenge their own development.  As a part of the programme they worked on two key projects for the organisation around “Brand” and “People”.  The outputs from the programme were extremely useful for Barnardos in culture and organisational change, but also significant for the individuals’ own development.  For a number of the participants, this has led to promotion or new opportunities within Barnardos.  This year, Barnardos is running a Management Development Programme for 10 individuals who are at team leader or supervisor level.  This programme, in contrast to the Leadership Programme, is intended to develop technical management skills and knowledge.  It has eight modules over 12 months covering topics like business planning, financial management, marketing, change management and personal management – all of it developed and delivered by internal experts. “Like many other organisations, we have team leaders who have excellent professional knowledge and experience, but sometimes don’t have sufficient business knowledge and skills,” commented Murray. We are excited about the potential for this programme to help these individuals enhance those skills and expertise, and for the organisational development and succession planning this offers us.  We see these people as our senior managers of the future. The participants will do considerable solo guided work but also work creatively through online chats, assignments, and each of them has selected a project that they will complete over the period of the project – the outcome is going to have a big impact for the organisation and the individuals. For us, it comes down to two fairly simple questions:  How do we satisfy our staff?  How do we make the greatest difference for New Zealand children?  “By helping the people in Barnardos through active support and encouragement, to be the best they can be,” says Murray.
Sector news
Building leadership and capacity Philanthropy New Zealand				Back to top
In June this year Carol Lukas, formerly with the Amherst Wilder Foundation in the US was brought out here by Philanthropy New Zealand to talk at a series of seminars around the country. According to Carol Lukas, capacity building is any activity that strengthens non-profit performance and impact. Oganisational capacity building activities include business planning, evaluation, financial systems, fund development, board development, collaborations and strategic restructuring and organisational assessment. She begins by explaining that the non-profit sector in the US and here in New Zealand is one of the largest industries. But 75% of philanthropic dollars go to 10% of the largest organisations, leaving the other 90% of organisations to fight over the remaining 25%. The environment of non-profits, says Carol, can look like a building that is having new storey being added to the top, whilst the foundations underneath are being eroded. New money is used to provide new programmes, but because funders will often prefer to make grants to fund projects and initiatives, rather than long term support for the infrastructure of the organisations, organisations become less sustainable over a period of time. The primary reason for investing in capacity of non-profit organisations is it will enhance their ability to accomplish their missions. “If we are a strong organisation we are likely to deliver quality programmes, to reach the number of people that we’re supposed to reach with those programmes, and to do that in an efficient way,” says Carol. Organisations that don’t have good operating systems, she continues, who aren’t managing their staff well, are less likely to deliver a good product to the community. Capacity building also helps leverage philanthropic dollars: the stronger the case you can put together for funding, the more likely you are to receive it. She describes capacity building a bit like throwing a rock into a pond. “You can build capacity at many different levels. You get an initial splash and then that splash ripples out from the centre to the edges of the pond. At the simplest level you build capacity within individuals – you send a staff member to a  training programme. Hopefully that will have a ripple effect within the organisation. For increased effect maybe send two or three – you will get even more organisational impact if you send the Executive Director or Board members. But crucially, Carol says that it is equally important to know when to invest in capacity building: “When organisations are just being formed, some inspired person is only imagining that there could be an organisation to deal with an issue. After this idea has taken shape, organisations predictably go through at least five stages of development.” Each stage has particular challenges and Carol says particular styles and characteristics of leadership are required for those stages. For example in the first stage – the creativity stage, it is important that the organisations leader is creative and energetic. She warns that some organisations suffer from ‘founders syndrome’: “Founding board members or founding executive directors who have amazing influence within the organisation to the point where it can be dysfunctional, because it does not allow for other opinions to come forward, it does not allow for the organisation to objectively consider its future direction.” The second stage requires someone in leadership who is a strong organiser. “You are getting everything going, you have to develop new systems, mobilize people, be out there promoting.”