Manawatu Newcomers Newsletter #2 Wednesday 6th March 2013

Physical Address

Manawatu Multicul-

tural Council Inc. (MMC) Community House

77-85 King Street PO BOX 2031

PALMERSTON NORTH

E-mail: Manawatu @newcomers.co.nz

Administered by Family and Community Services

Greetings,

What an amazing summer we had! I hope you had some time

to go out and enjoy the outdoors, walking along the beach or in your

neighborhood.

On the 9th February a group of very enthusiastic women and men of all

ages joined the Manawatu Gorge Loop walk. It was a 2 hours or so of

an amazing walk. The weather was also fabulous. We

enjoyed the native bush, scenic views and the bird life.

At times it was steady and steep

which was not easy on the knees for some of us, but we all were able to

make it to the big slip lookout. The point was not to race but take our

time to enjoy the stunning walk viewing amazing ancient trees and

ferns Listening to the whispering of the Manawatu River and the birds

singing while having lunch was de-lightful. The big slip offered a fabu-

lous view of the Manawatu River . Photos were taken before walking the

return journey. Next walk is on Saturday the 23rd

March. We will do Bledisloe Park and

Massey University Walk. It is a great walk!!! We will meet at the car park

on Centennial Drive before Massey Bridge. More information will be sent

out separately closer to the time on where to meet and what time.

Don’t miss the Festival of Cultures on Saturday the 16th March at the

Square. MMC will have an information stall there. We look forward to seeing

you there and please see more details further in this newsletter. Christine.

Manawatu Newcomers Newsletter #2 Wednesday 6th March 2013

Looking for Employment?

Finding a job here in Palmerston North can be one of

the most difficult things to do. With English as second language it can be even more

difficult. The most important thing you can do is not to give up even when it gets really tough. You have to be

out there and looking all of the time. Looking for work is a full time job in itself!

I was visited this week by Lynn Annear who runs an em-

ployment programme for migrants and refugees in Feilding. The programme runs for twelve weeks 4 days

a week and covers:

Job search skills CV preparation

Job interview practice

Work language skills …. and more

To be eligible you need to be receiving the unemployment benefit from Work and In-

come. There is also free transport from Palmerston North.

If you are interested or know someone who might be call Lynn on 06 323 9017 or text/call 027430 9332.

Course starts 18 March

Vicki Jarvie—MM Centre Coordinator.

Multicultural Playgroup Update

The Multicultural playgroup in on every Monday at the Senior Citizens Hall 323

Main Street from 10 am to 12 noon.

It is a great opportunity for mothers to practice their English language skills, learn about some Kiwi culture and then time to discuss different topics about babies and

toddlers.

For more details call

the Multicultural Cen-tre on 3581572 or e-

mail Christine on info@mmcnz.org.nz

Manawatu Newcomers Newsletter #2 Wednesday 6th March 2013

Potluck Dinner Update

New Year, New Flair!!!

Hola, Kunichiwa, Talofa Lava, Magandang Araw, Good Day…. 2013 is passing so quickly. For the Manawatu Newcomers Network, this will be our

third year of operation and we really happy to have met and been able to assist many newcomers with settling in to Palmerston North

In October last year our partner-

ship with Te Manawa commenced by hosting our pot luck dinners

there every second month. The Christmas dinner at Te Manawa

drew a big crowd of over 90 peo-ple. We would love our potluck

dinner activities for the next few months to have a theme and we

need participation from our guests

to make it successful. For the month of April, we would love to

have a Latino flair and we will in-vite our guests to dress up Latino

style. This year we started on

the last Friday of Febru-ary. Summer activities

kept our regular at-tendees busy and we

were pleased to host some newcomers from

Massey University and Japanese students from

IPC who are here for a

short time. We had people from Vietnam

Mexico, Spain, and Pa-pa New Guinea to name

a few. We also had a couple who just trans-

ferred from Christ-church due to the

earthquake in 2011. A big welcome to you all.

Meriam Findlay

The monthly potluck dinner is on last Friday of the month at 6pm.

We will not have a potluck dinner on Friday the 29th March because it is a public holiday. Next potluck Dinner is on Friday the 26th April at Te Mana-

wa Museums. Please come in your best Latino attire . There will be Latino music in the background .It will be a fun night and we love to see you then.

Christine

Manawatu Newcomers Newsletter #2 Wednesday 6th March 2013

Since the early 1900’s Internation-

al Women's Day has been a day to

recognize women from all walks of

life without regard to their nation-

al, ethnic, cultural or political dif-

ferences and to celebrate their

achievements around the world. 8

March has also been an opportunity

to highlight gender inequalities and

raise political and social awareness

of the struggles of women worldwide.

In 2013 Te Manawa will host the celebration of this day

in our region with a very special programme:

REACT Big Girls Peace Parade (12 noon from Te Man-

awa)

The Honourable Turiana Turia will visit Te Manawa on

t h e o c c a s i o n o f t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l

Women's Day! (2pm)

Women's Market/Expo (1.30-7pm)

Live music and performances: Vanessa Stacey -

Brazen Hussies - Zirca Circus- Valerie Solanas - Zumba Party -Canta Conmigo - Circo Arcofit and oth-

ers

Films amplifying the voices of women: It's a Girl and Inspiring Stories Trust films http://

www.inspiringstories.org.nz/

Women's workshops:

For more information go to www.Temanawa.co.nz

Vicki Jarvie, MM Centre Coordinator

International Women’s Day - Friday the 8th March.

Manawatu Newcomers Newsletter #2 Wednesday 6th March 2013

When: Sat 16 Mar, 10:00am – 4:00pm

Where: The Square, Palmerston North

Restrictions: All Ages

Tickets: Free Admission

Website: www.foc.co.nz

Put it in your diary! - Festival of Cultures 15-17 March 2013.

This is one of the longest-standing community events in Palmerston North. This year it is promising to be even more exciting and vibrant. It is our city’s chance to cele-

brate art, culture, lifestyle and explore their connections to each other and New Zealand. The event is fully accessible to all of the community and offers a variety of

mainly free entertainment, covering areas such as food, music, arts and craft, cul-

tural talks and performances, photography, lantern making and a lantern parade and for the first time in The Square a cultural cuisine show.

The festival will open again in 2013 with a community cultural lantern parade and concert on Friday 15 March at 6:30pm. This parade will follow weeks of work and

workshops around the community. The parade will be after dark around the Square. This year is "The Year of The Snake".

This will be followed the next day on Saturday 16 March by the World Food Craft and Music Fair, 10am-4pm in The Square in the Centre of Palmerston North City.

Here you can enjoy all day local and national music and entertainment and cultural foods, crafts and culture. There will be a nationally acclaimed musical group— The

Klezmer Rebs and various local musical and dance groups will also perform.

Festival of Cultures 2013

Manawatu Newcomers Newsletter #2 Wednesday 6th March 2013

March 2013 Calendar of Events and Activities

Friday 1st March and every Friday of the week Shared Lunch from 12 noon

@Manawatu Multicultural Centre Community House

77-85 King Street Contact Noorangi or Christine

Friday 1st March and every Friday of the week

Art and Craft from 1-3pm @Manawatu Multicultural Centre

Community House 77-85 King Street

Contact Christine or Noorangi

Monday 4th March and every Monday of the week

Multicultural Playgroup from 10am Senior Citizens Hall

323-325 Main Street Palmerston North

Contact Christine or Noorangi

Wednesday the 6th March Women’s Group – Cheese making from 1-3pm

@ Manawatu Multicultural Centre Community House

77-85 King Street Palmerston North

Contact Christine or Noorangi

Saturday 23rd March

Bledisloe Park and Massey University Walk from 11am. We will meet in the Car Park on Centennial Drive, near Massey

Bridge. Contact Christine or Noorangi

Wednesday 20th March

Coffee Morning from 10am @Manawatu Multicultural Centre

Community House 77-85 King Street

Contact Maria, Carrol or Christine

Saturday 30th March

Women Only Swimming Night from 6-8pm Freyberg Community Pool