What we do

Our goals

The aim of the Refugee Family Reunification Trust is to raise funds to financially assist refugees, primarily in the Wellington region, with the costs of bringing qualifying family members to join them here. The Trust helps refugees who have significant family members left behind in refugee camps and similar situations.

Refugees are a particularly disadvantaged sector of our community, suffering greatly from forced separation from their loved ones. Priority is given to the most vulnerable refugees – such as solo mothers, children, those with disabilities, the elderly and the unwell.

Family reunification is very expensive and so, without assistance from our Trust, many of these families would never be able to get back together again, thereby hindering the ability of those already here to successfully resettle in New Zealand.

Eligibility

To qualify for assistance from the Refugee Family Reunification Trust, an applicant must:

• be a former refugee
• live in the Wellington region (although we can assist those in other regions if funding allows)
• have immediate family members in a refugee-like situation
• be assessed as having a good case under normal immigration policy

Support

The Trust works closely with other refugee agencies, including:

• New Zealand Red Cross – Refugee Services
• English Language Partners Wellington
• Refugee Trauma Recovery
• ChangeMakers Refugee Forum
• KiwiClass
• Community Law Wellington and Hutt Valley

Refugees We Help

The Trust has helped refugees from many countries, including those originally from Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Sudan, South Sudan, Rwanda, Uganda, Algeria, Zimbabwe, Palestine, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Brazil and Colombia.