World Refugee Day, held on Saturday the 26th of June served as a global call to action to “renew our commitment to helping refugees move beyond survival towards a future of rights, solutions, dignity and hope.” (The UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency).
In light of this, the Akoranga Service Committee partnered with Westlake’s Amnesty International group to deliver an engaging few weeks of education surrounding the Global Refugee Crisis, concluding on the 16th of June with a presentation by Erin Ajygin.
Bringing her years of expertise as an Employment Programme Manager (Refugee Services) for Red Cross, Ms Ajygin’s presentation provided students with a broader and more holistic understanding of the Global Refugee Crisis whilst highlighting how we all have a responsibility as global citizens to work towards creating safe, understanding and welcoming communities.
This supports the work of the Akoranga Service Committee who have planned and lead initiatives to raise awareness and funds for Refugees as Survivors New Zealand to aid in their mission to provide trauma informed mental health care and community services to individuals of refugee backgrounds.
We would like to thank all of the students who were in attendance as well as Ms. Kay Brown and, of course, Ms Ajygin whose work and preparation behind the scenes made this event possible.
