When Ingrid Viafara Liu arrived in New Zealand in 2018, she brought with her more than a suitcase. She carried years of resilience marked by hardship and a dream to build a new life filled with opportunity and peace.

She hoped to leave behind the instability and fear that had followed her across borders and years. What she did not expect was how much courage and healing she would still need to rebuild her life in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Our 94th National Council Annual General Meeting is on 8 November in Wellington.

When Dudley and Lee-Ann Morgan moved to the Otago township of Lawrence in July, they thought they’d left the worst of life’s storms behind. But just a few months later, their new town was struck by a violent weather event that tore through the region leaving them clinging, quite literally, to their greenhouse.

Our members, volunteers, employees, and supporters have been the heart of our mission since 1915, selflessly dedicating their time and skills to make a difference in the lives of others. An area of our work where we’ve seen this neighbourly good will has been with former refugees, where over the decades our volunteers have helped people fleeing violence and persecution to rebuild their lives in New Zealand.

With much of Gaza’s health infrastructure destroyed, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) sent a tented 60-bed field hospital, now expanded to 110 beds. While originally designed to run self-sufficiently for only four months, it’s been operating since May 2024.