Stories

In the middle of the night, Abdal was faced with a parent’s worst nightmare — finding their child not breathing. Luckily, Abdal knew what to do.

Tucked in behind the main street in Nelson is an unassuming concrete building. You’d never know that inside this building, chef and former refugee Alexander Garcia Gongoro is baking up something delicious. The only hint is a small black sign that reads ‘YUM’.

We're celebrating former refugees who were essential workers during COVID-19 Alert Level 4 Lockdown. Meet Nedal Ebrahim; a former refugee, a supermarket assistant, a passionate cook and a COVID-19 essential worker.

We're celebrating former refugees who were essential workers during COVID-19 Alert Level 4 Lockdown. Meet Masood Chakari: a former refugee, a cricket player, a Case Manager for Work and Income, and COVID-19 essential worker.

We're celebrating former refugees who were essential workers during COVID-19 Alert Level 4 Lockdown. Meet husband and wife Lin and Lian, former refugees from Myanmar, Kiwis, parents and essential workers.

We're celebrating former refugees who were essential workers during COVID-19 Alert Level 4 Lockdown. Meet Rose Pradhan; a former refugee, a truck driver for TNL, a mother of two and a COVID-19 essential worker.

We're celebrating former refugees who were essential workers during COVID-19 Alert Level 4 Lockdown. Meet Sabira Nouri: a former refugee, nurse, avid traveller, cancer survivor and COVID-19 essential worker, Sabira has been defying the odds her whole life.

For Feras Abbas, a former refugee, the journey to employment in Aotearoa has been about using old skills in a new way.

Her journey to New Zealand as a refugee hasn’t been an easy one but today, as a chef for Compassion Soup Kitchen and an essential worker during the lockdown, Suzanne* has found her purpose feeding hundreds of people in need in Wellington.

With the help of our Open Road driver training programme, former refugees are on the right track to becoming full New Zealand license holders.

Becoming a machinist for Elco Apparel in Dunedin has been a life-changing experience for Manahel, who fled Syria with her three children five years ago. It’s been as much about joining a new family as picking up new sewing skills.

New Zealand Red Cross welcomes the recent Government's announcement regarding Red Cross' role supporting former refugees in new settlement locations.