Media Release, June 2009

Kids4Kids Event To Mark World Refugee Day

WITH SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL THOSE INVOLVED, DONATING THEIR TIME AND TALENT

Media Release, June 2009 20TH JUNE, 2009

Celebrating cultural diversity is the aim of “Kids4Kids” an event to acknowledge World Refugee Day which is recognised globally on June 20. This year’s theme from the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) is Real People, Real Needs.

Organised by Children on the Edge and Refugee Services Aotearoa New Zealand, “Kids4Kids” invite children from ages 5-12 to the Wellington Town Hall from 10am to 3pm on Saturday 20 June for a day of fun filled activities.

KIDS4KIDS Date: 20th June – World Refugee Day - Time: 10am-3.30pm Venue: The Wellington Town Hall, Civic Suites and Square Affairs Ages: 5-12 years (groups will be split according to age groups) Lunch: Burmese lunch provided Cost $25 – funds raised will be distributed to help both Children on the Edge and Refugee Services continue their work with refugees. Adult supervision will be provided. Hip Hop Workshop with the ‘Hutt City Dance Centre and The Oracle Foundation’.

The Oracle Foundation study and train with dedication enabling the members to maximise potential and excel in the field of hip-hop dance fitness funk. They promote dance/fitness as a positive and healthy recreational activity. They strive to share their passion for dance, passing on these skills to the youth of New Zealand

www.huttcitydancecentre.co.nz African drumming Workshop with Erika. Erika is a UK trained percussionist by Tommy Odueso a Nigerian Master Drummer. Erika has been a drummer for 20 years and played with Tommy Odueso’s band in Manchester.

She has led workshops in Manchester for a number of cultural events and New Zealand is thrilled to have her return to her homeland to share her skills and talent. International Arts and Crafts – Kids will have the chance to learn to write their names in different languages, make a friendship bracelet, make a card and write a letter to a refugee on the Thai/ Burma border or even make a sock puppet.

This workshop will be facilitated by talented Wellington artist Elisabeth Vullings who will be assisted by refugees from around the world sharing their languages with the children.

www.elisabethvullings.co.nz “NZ’s Loudest Mime – MR FUNGUS” International comic mime. Mr Fungus will take to the stage with educational material developed by the Global Education Centre to education and excite the children on cultural diversity and understanding. Mr Fungus has years of experience, he’s been a guest juggler with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and appeared in several television commercials. A talented MC, with a main-bill theatre show, mobile act or street entertainer for many major festivals and events of all kinds around New Zealand and in over a dozen

countries worldwide. www.mrfungus.co.nz ACTIVITIES INCLUDE Lunch will be a fun filled affair. In addition to the lunch provided by The Golden Lotus in Brooklyn, the children will be treated to a drumming and samba performance from Wellington Batucada. While the beats are played and the dancers samba the kids will also be in for a face painting treat with a team of volunteers from The Body Shop.

20TH JUNE, 2009 Jude Walcott Refugee Services jude.walcott@refugeeservices.org.nz Children on the Edge New Zealand was founded in 2006 and National Manager Shelly Mansfield says it exists specifically to help the forgotten children of Burma.

CHILDREN ON THE EDGE “We are a non-profit organisation, committed to working on behalf of marginalized and vulnerable children from Burma. These children have fled persecution by the Burmese Army to refugee camps, internally displaced people (IDP) camps and migrant communities in Thailand.

As they are non Thai citizens they have no right to an education within Thailand so these schools and boarding houses we run are often the only chance they have at obtaining one of their basic human rights, an education.” Ms Mansfield says that through art, music and entertainment the “Kids4Kids” event can provide an opportunity for young New Zealanders to come together and learn about other cultures and the difficulties faced by young refugees. Refugee Services (formerly RMS Refugee Resettlement) is also a non-profit organization and New Zealand’s national refugee resettlement agency assisting the 750 quota refugees the Government accepts into the country each year.

There are over 11 million refugees worldwide with less than 1% every being resettled in another country. The average stay in a refugee camp is 17 years. Over the last eight years New Zealand has been the destination for just over one thousand refugees from Burma/Myanmar with around 255 settling in Wellington, Porirua and Hutt region since 2005. Refugee Services staff and volunteers welcome former refugees on arrival to Wellington and assist in integrating them into their local communities. From practical support including helping navigate the public transport systems to banking and shopping as well as advocacy, crisis intervention and home-based family support.

On World Refugee Day, let’s not forget that some day in the future any one of us could be knocking at a stranger’s door hoping to find a safe and friendly shelter. We should extend refugees the same kind of welcome we would like to receive if we were in their position. Let us honour refugees for the courage and determination it takes to survive and rebuild their lives.

ends

© Scoop Media