Single-minded success - Settlement Support

a World Soils Conference in Australia and published several
research papers. “I really enjoyed my doctoral study and developed
my social integration through playing key roles with the
INR [Institute of Natural Resources] Social Club and the PNCC
[Palmerston North City Council] citizen forum”, he says.
At the completion of his studies focusing on heavy metals and
their effects on bio solids amended soil, Jeya was offered a full
time job and now works as a Post Doctoral Scientist at Plant
and Food Research in Palmerston North.
Vaithehi (Vai) admits she was bored and a little lonely during
the first few weeks of arriving in a new country. “During the
day the children were at school and Jeya was at university. I
needed to get out and meet people.”
Vai, a qualified secondary school maths teacher mustered the
courage to visit the Manawatü Multicultural Centre. “I was
really nervous but I soon felt very welcome. There were a lot
of smiley faces and I quickly gained confidence and made new
friends.” Within two weeks Vai was tutoring other migrants
in Basic English.
20 LINKZ | ISSUE 48 | 2011
I was really nervous but I soon felt very welcome.
There were a lot of smiley faces and I quickly
gained confidence and made new friends
Vai says she learnt a lot about living in a new country at the
Centre and especially enjoyed interacting with people from a
diverse range of cultures.
In the meantime, she was applying for “every teaching job available.”
It was a year long stint as a relief teacher in early childhood
centres that enticed Vai to redirect her teaching skills.
“Early childhood education is a very different environment,”
she says. “The children are all so cute and lovely.”
After undergoing a tough selection process, Vai was accepted
for the three year Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood)
programme at Massey University. This year she began her
second year of full-time study.
Vai’s involvement with the Multicultural Centre has steadily
grown since her first tentative visit three years ago. She is
now a trained volunteer support person for Refugee Services
Aotearoa and has helped several Bhutanese families settle in
Palmerston North. “By helping others settle in a new country I
have learnt a lot too,” she says. “I was learning by doing. I also
knew what the refugees were going through as I had experienced
it myself.”