Help welcome
the next family
home!
Elie is a natural leader and a great father. But for twelve years, he struggled to provide enough food for his children.
For twelve years, Elie and his family lived in a refugee camp after violence and insecurity forced them to flee the Democratic Republic of the Congo. There were times his family went whole nights without food.
Today, families like Elie’s are arriving in Aotearoa New Zealand, beginning again after years of hardship and uncertainty. Your donation can help make their first months here a little easier – with a warm Kiwi welcome, practical support and someone alongside them as they settle into their new community.
Help make a warm Kiwi welcome possible for the next family!
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Elie's story...
Elie was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. When violence and insecurity forced his family to flee, they spent the next 12 years in a refugee camp, far from everything they had ever known.
The food ration was barely enough to get by, before Elie’s family was taken off the food list altogether. They began going whole nights without eating.
“I suffered a lot,” Elie says. “I have never experienced any suffering like that in my life.”
But Elie’s story is not one of helplessness. It is a story of a good father showing determination, leadership, and generosity.
While living in the camp, Elie found ways to improve his own circumstances and help others. He started a small rabbit-farming project, provided young rabbits to people with little to no support and taught families to grow vegetables in sacks when there was no land available. He also founded a community health organisation and taught himself English.
Elie and his family arrived in New Zealand with courage, skills and determination – ready to build a new life.
What your donation today will support
Each year our teams help around 850 people begin their new lives in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Families arriving here bring courage, skill and determination with them. Your support can help provide the practical welcome they need as they take their first steps in a new country and community.
That can mean having someone alongside them while everything is unfamiliar – helping them enrol with a local doctor, find their way around the neighbourhood, discover local libraries and community centres, or navigate public transport.
It can also mean helping a family make their new house feel like a home, providing essentials that bring comfort and dignity to their new start.
With your support, families can build confidence step by step and begin making their new community their own.
There are more families who need your help
Elie’s family is just one family. More families are arriving in Aotearoa New Zealand, carrying years of hardship and uncertainty – and beginning the challenge of building a new life.
New Zealand Red Cross wants to be there for every one of them, providing the practical support, care and welcome they need in those important first months. We cannot do it without you.
Your donation can help make sure the next family has someone alongside them as they settle into their community and begin to feel at home.
How your donation helps
Your donation today will go where the need is greatest, helping our teams be there for the families who arrive next.
When Elie’s family finally reached Masterton, the Red Cross team was ready and waiting. They arranged for another Congolese family to prepare a meal for them. In the refugee camp they ate little more than rice and boiled eggs, now Elie and his family could finally eat until they were full.
A neighbour, Steve, turned up with bikes for the children.
“Being in a community where people respect human dignity, where our family lives safely, means a lot to me,” Elie says.
Your gift can help make this kind of welcome possible for the next family arriving in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Support us with your regular donation
Be there in every hour of need – become a Humanitarian Partner
Join a community of caring supporters who are there when a disaster strikes, when an elderly or ill neighbour needs a hot meal, or when a former refugee family arrives in Aotearoa New Zealand.
In every hour of need, the ongoing support of people who care is what makes our life-changing humanitarian work possible. So please, turn your compassion into action and become a Humanitarian Partner today.
Frequently asked questions
Making a regular donation is one of the most powerful ways to ensure that relief, care and hope can reach people who need it the most.
Join a community of caring supporters who are there when a disaster strikes, when an elderly or ill neighbour needs a hot meal, when a former refugee family arrives in Aotearoa New Zealand. In every hour of need, the ongoing support of people who care, is what makes our life-changing humanitarian work possible.
To learn more, click on the below link:
When you make a donation of more than $5.00, you could claim 33.33% back from IRD. We will send you a receipt for your donation within 3 business days. If you have any questions or queries, please contact our Supporter Care team on 0800 733 276 or email at fundraising@redcross.org.nz
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Account name: NZRC Fundraising
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Reference: Your supporter ID number if known. You will find this number on correspondence from Red Cross, it starts with “RE"
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New Zealand Red Cross Incorporated is a registered charity (CC21860), making you eligible for a tax refund of up to a third of your donation. All transactions are billed in New Zealand dollars.
New Zealand Red Cross operates from 69 Molesworth Street, Thorndon, Wellington 6011, New Zealand.