Donate here to support the ARCC charity work.

Help us to support the new residents and resettled communities (refugee background) of Aotearoa New Zealand to have better settlement, integration and belonging outcomes.

Make your donation here, and we’ll ensure every dollar goes to the project that supports the families and communities who are newly arrived in New Zealand.

Donate here

WELCOME TO ARCC

ARCC is an umbrella organisation working with 24 former refugee organisations in New Zealand.

Many of our staff are themselves former refugees who want to give something back and help those going through similar difficult times as they went through.

We want to make a positive change to people’s lives and foster a harmonious settlement process and integration into the local communities.

We advocate on behalf of former refugees, we represent them at government agency meetings, and we help get them access to fundamental services.

But we need your help!

OVERCOMING HARD TIMES

Resettling in a new country is always difficult, having to learn a new language, understand new customs, become part of a new culture.

But it can be especially difficult for former refugees, for people struck by tragedy in their own country, ripped from their homes, forced to leave after having suffered pain and loss.

Grateful to be given a new place to live, they set out on a journey of making New Zealand their new home.

CALLING NZ HOME

A home is more than just a place to live, it is having a sense of belonging, a sense of community.

Much is required to achieve such integration, including education, learning the language and ways of life here in New Zealand, finding employment, having access to health and community services and the support of the community.

Sometimes it’s simply having someone to talk to.

WANTING TO HELP

Our communities here in New Zealand are often in search of meaningful ways to help those recently settled in the country but often don’t know how.

The barriers hinder connection.

People want to donate but don’t know who they can trust, where the money will go.

They want to volunteer but don’t know where or whether they have something meaningful to offer.

OUR MISSION

That’s where ARCC come in. We are the link between the former refugee community and the people wanting to help.

We help by collecting donations and making sure they go where needed, we create connections between volunteers and people in need, between employers and former refugees looking for work.

We run projects and programs all with the aim of strengthening the bond between former refugees and the local communities, paving the way for a seamless integration by providing quicker access to some of the most fundamental things

WHY ARCC

We’re a grassroots non-profit society, which means we’re all about the people, trying to achieve lasting change and positive outcomes because we truly care.

Many of our own people are former refugees who deeply and sincerely feel for those affected because they understand the struggle.

We make sure that the money goes exactly where it’s needed because we know that the quality of so many lives depends on it.

OUR VISION

A settled, integrated and thriving refugee background community in New Zealand

Leadership

We work directly with our communities by focusing on capacity building and the establishment of networks

ADVOCACY

We show the general New Zealand audience the importance and benefits of a healthy resettlement process

RESEARCH

We use our connec6tions to generate data and use that information to benefit of the people we serve

OUR Team

Both our team and our governing board are made up of a variety of people from different ethnic backgrounds and with a spectrum of expertise that come together under our organisation’s vision and values.
We strive to make sure our staff and governance board reflect those values of integration and representation by keeping a balance between people who have lived through the refugee experience and people who have not, but are skilled enough to strengthen our mission..

Abann K.A Yor

General
Manager

Tina Pihema

Projects & Innovations Coordinator

Gatluak Chuol

Community Engagement & Relationship Coordinator

Faisal Farghaly

Community
Navigator

Yohanna Tesfai

Community Navigator

Stewart Devitt

External Facilitator / Skills Developer

Helen Te Hira

External Facilitator /
Educator

Donate Now

Make a difference to the lives of individuals and our community and country as a whole

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OUR Projects

We initiate and support an array of different projects all with the overall aim of promoting a healthy and happy resettlement process and meaningful integration into the local community.

Our projects range from art exhibitions to raise awareness of different cultures, to reuniting families torn apart by war, to strengthening the voice and resilience of refugee women or young people in support groups, and equipping them with necessary skills and knowledge, to name a few…

World Refugee Day 2019

World Refugee Day (WRD) provides an opportunity for the New Zealand public to come together to commemorate the strength, courage, and perseverance of those who were once displaced. It also provides an opportunity for New Zealanders to stand in solidarity with millions of refugees around the world. It is a [...]

The Resettlement Portraits

This project is about reminding people that refugees bring to a country much more then just the luggage on their back. Every individual within our resettled community also carries with them their own taonga tuku iho that needs to be respected, protected and celebrated. Our goal is to use this [...]

Auckland Resettlement Sector Annual Summit

The Auckland Resettlement Sector- Annual Summit is a new platform bringing together local, regional and national government representatives, mainstream service leaders, resettlement service providers, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and established and newly resettled community leaders. The objectives of the Summit are to create inter-agency and organisational understanding of the resettlement sector’s [...]

New Zealanders Now – From Refugees to Kiwis

Many people from refugee backgrounds have made New Zealand their home. Their past may be in another country, but their present and future is here. This project is about those people. People who have shown extraordinary resilience in the face of adversity, emerging with determination. New Zealand benefits enormously from resettling [...]

Women Leadership Network (WLN)

The overall aim of the Women’s Leadership Network (WLN) is to create a setting in which women will have a safer, fairer and more sustainable network so that they can determine their own future and fulfill their potential. To this end, ARCC will lend its support to their initiatives when [...]

Youth United Voice

Youth United Voice is aimed at enabling a united voice for young people. Through workshops and activities, the goal is to empower the youth to emerge as leaders within their own communities, as well as in the wider New Zealand community. This is a great opportunity for like-minded youth to [...]

Strengthening Resettlement Voices Project

Strengthening Refugee Voices was established in 2006 by the former Department of Labour. It is a community-led initiative aimed at  enabling a united voice of former refugees on settlement matters at regional and national levels. Funding is provided to refugee groups to enable them to meet and discuss their issues [...]

New Zealander Now Campaign

The Redefine Refugee Campaign comes as a result of community consultation on the local, regional and national resettlement challenges. These centre on employment, education, health, housing, family lifestyles and involve negative public perceptions, which often stereotype new arrivals, giving them the permanent label of “refugee”. The ARCC want to change [...]

Communication and Leadership Workshops

We offer a Communication and Leadership Workshop to all members and friends of the ARCC, who want to gain knowledge and skills in order to lead their communities to success in the New Zealand system. Participants learn to Recognise the importance of appropriate communication and leadership styles in dealing with resettlement [...]

Resettlement Story Book: Beyond Refuge Book

This project is centred on the need to capture resettlement stories, in our own voices, as a way of introducing ourselves as newcomers to other New Zealanders.  In order to come together as a community to combat these issues and get them addressed at a national level, it will serve [...]