Volunteering Makes A Tauranga Migrant Feel Like Home

It’s Welcoming Week, and Jason Rigon is a prime example of a migrant who has helped make his new home in Tauranga a more friendly place for other newcomers.

Filipino Jason is President of Club Filipino Tauranga Inc. (CFTI), and settled here with his family, wife Joy and three young sons in 2017. He’s lived all over the world with his career as a senior structural engineer, and after visiting New Zealand they chose it as the place to raise their young family.

“I’d heard many good things about New Zealand and my wife has relatives already living here. New Zealand’s environment is like the Philippines, with plenty of greenery and beaches - especially appealing after living in Dubai.”

Their three boys, 10-year-old twins and an eight year old are all at St Mary’s Catholic primary school, and Jason says he has a “very supportive” wife. They love the lifestyle after living in Thailand and Dubai, and visiting other Asian countries.

“That’s one of the perks of my job - you can go anywhere.”

He’s always volunteered, starting in his homeland where he was Youth President of his village. In Thailand he was a sports coordinator at an international school, and volunteered at his church. Here he volunteers with Club Filipino, which serves the rapidly growing Filipino community in the area.

“It’s less congested in Tauranga. Many Filipinos move here and families often follow each other. They hear good things about the place and their friends follow.”

The Club organises an annual meet-and-greet event for new migrants, inviting local speakers on a wide variety of subjects. They cover road safety, driving, immigration rules, banking, police, alcohol, water safety, fishing rules - essential information newcomers need to understand to make the most of their new lives in New Zealand.

It’s open to all migrants, not just Filipinos, and he says those who have been here for more than a decade have valuable advice to pass on to new families. They also have more practical things to pass onto to new arrivals, such as furniture and household goods to set up new homes.

“We help new migrants not get into trouble and create a healthy community to be part of this beautiful Tauranga community.” He’s not sure how many Filipinos are living in Tauranga, but about 4,300 are members of their Facebook group and about 70 percent still live in Tauranga.

The Club also has an annual three-day event during Matariki with sports, arts and crafts, a pageant and other cultural activities to share with other organisations and migrant groups. The club has a sports committee, IT, logistics and support, leisure and socialisation committees, youth leaders, socio-civic and religious committee and a health and fitness committee, along with the events management team.

He’s proud of his club’s 10-year history, and thanked all the dedicated volunteers, who make their community united, happy and healthy.

To celebrate Welcoming Week there’s a Multicultural picnic at Mātua Community Centre on Saturday, from 10am to 3pm with fun for families. Bring a picnic.

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