Multicultural, diverse, multi-ethnic, multiracial and inclusive, all these words perfectly describe Hamilton. The land where many years ago only the Maori used to live now has people from more than 160 different nationalities living together in harmony.

And, according to NZ,  in New Zealand as a whole, “all ethnic populations are projected to grow in number between 2013 and 2038”.

“The broad Asian ethnic group will increase the most over the period. This group’s population is projected to rise from 540,000 in 2013 to 1.2–1.4 million in 2038. The Pacific ethnic group is also projected to rise significantly, from 340,000 in 2013 to 530,000–650,000 in 2038.”

No matter where you go in Hamilton you find different ethnic groups. That is one thing that makes Hamilton special. It is welcoming to everyone and anyone. There are a large group of refugees that live in Hamilton. There are multiple organisations located within Hamilton that help these refugees.

The mighty Waikato river flows through the city. The banks of this river are considered to be the favourite spot for fitness freaks for their everyday runs. Even those who are looking for a leisurely walk, enjoy the pathways to take in some of the beautiful scenery.

Talking about the beauty in Hamilton, it has the Hamilton gardens. The gardens are so beautiful, that one cannot go there just once. Over the years the gardens have continued to grow and become more beautiful. In 2014 Hamilton Gardens received the honour of International Garden of the Year.

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Hamilton is known as bridge city by many of the locals. The reason for this is that there are six car bridges which cross the Waikato river. In addition there are three other bridges that are in use, another car bridge, one as a foot bridge and one as a rail bridge.

As Hamilton is the home to the Waikato University, one of the major universities in New Zealand and the Waikato Institute of Technology. The student population here is considerable and helps keeps Hamilton buzzing.

People from all over the world come to Hamilton to study at the two institutions. Some of those places include India, China, South America, Somalia, and many more.

Where there are students, there ought to be places for them to hang out. There are a number of eateries and restaurants in Hamilton which are popular amongst, not only the college crowd, but everyone who lives in Hamilton.

The nightlife of Hamilton is alive on Friday and Saturday nights. Residents of Hamilton gather in town to have a good time in a many bars and clubs that Hamilton has to offer.

Lake Rotoroa is located in just a few minutes from the Hamilton CBD. If you were wanting to walk around the lake it would take around 45 minutess to an hour. There is all sorts of wildlife around the lake. It is used for rowing practice for one of the clubs which is located on the bank of the Hamilton lake.

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Hamilton is also popular for music as it hosts a number of music shows and festivals like the Soundscape Music Festival and many more. These are located all over the city.

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Imagine coming to New Zealand for the first time from a different country and realising New Zealanders drive on the right-hand side of the road.

That was the case for Jefferson Millan. He came to New Zealand at around 11-12 years of age from Colombia, South America. Jeff and his family were intrigued by the fact New Zealanders drove on the opposite side to South America.

Jefferson, a refugee student, came to this country  when his mum decided to make the move from Colombia. This decision changed their life for the better.

The reason for the move was due to difficult circumstances. Jeff’s mum wanted a good education and a better future for Jeff and his sister. Jeff said: “Family comes before anything.”

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Colombia compared to New Zealand is quieter. Instead of having many cars taking up space on the road, the majority of people ride bicycles or motorbikes or just walk. Jeff said “you can probably walk through my home town in around 40 mins”.

One significant thing about home Jeff remembers was Christmas. Christmas was a big deal for Jeff and his family. For Colombians, Christmas is  traditional and special.

For the people of Colombia, the first week of December would be about making traditional foods before spending the whole month with the family. “We would just spend time catching up with family from other cities around Colombia,” Jeff stated.

Being raised in Colombia Jeff did not really know much about the world.

Life in Colombia for Jeff was different.  “We didn’t have much freedom like we have in New Zealand.” They kept to a strict routine.

The weekends involved a lot of family time. “That is something which we are familiar with in the kiwi life style.”

When Jeff got out of Colombia that was his chance to learn more about the world. He was able to meet people from other countries. From that he was able to improve his English and socialise more.

Going to high school in New Zealand allowed him to start learning music.

“When I started high school that’s when I started learning guitar and through the years started getting better and better.” That’s when he joined one of the music groups of St Johns and Sacred Heart students. They did little gigs around Hamilton and Auckland.

Hamilton was his chance to do the things he dreamed of doing in Colombia. For Jeff Hamilton allows him to feel calm and peaceful. “It’s the calming and peaceful feelings that you get.” Going for walks around the lake is something Jeff does to feel in a state of Zen. “It’s not as crazy as a big city like Wellington or Auckland.”

The Settlement Centre Waikato, formally known as the Migrant Centre, is a place that offers help to those settling into Hamilton.

Political turmoil, terrorism, war, racist attacks, gender-based abuse and natural calamities have led to the displacement of a large number of people from their home country. Out of a total 196 countries, only 30 are offering refugee resettlement. Although this figure is a shame, the countries that do help them are doing some great things for better integration of them into their new home country. New Zealand is proud to be one of those countries offering a home to the refugees.

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For the refugees in Hamilton, the Refugee Orientation Centre Trust works  hard to make refugees self-reliant and integrate them into kiwi culture. The founder and director of the trust, Mr Muzombo has been a refugee himself and has had bad experiences when he first came to Hamilton. This was the main reason which drove him to start this trust and help the fellow refugees so that they don’t go through the same problems that he did.

The trust undertakes many activities and training programs for the refugees so that they become more confident to carry out the day-to-day chores and become a part of the kiwi culture faster. These activities are divided into four categories:

• Advocacy: They speak on behalf of their clients. For example, bank issues, landlord and job issues, policy issues and so on.
• Education: As a lot of these refugees come from a rural background and have different social and economic culture, educating them is one of the most important things. For this purpose, they have workshops like parenting in a new culture, basic computer classes, study support services, girl-to-girl connections, and mentoring programs. They also help the refugees with getting learners or restricted driving licences.

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• Information workshop: This is where they give them general guidelines, rules and regulations about their new home country. They help them understand the laws and teach them about their rights and duties.
• Sports and recreational activities: They organise an annual soccer event called Jambo where the refugee kids team up with the local kids in a friendly game.

To successfully carry out these activities and for the smooth functioning  the Trust needs financial assistance. And they get this money from donations and some assistance from the New Zealand government. They also have a very efficient staff who helps them in training the refugees for better and fast integration. These volunteers mostly work part-time and have to go through a number of interview rounds to be selected as a volunteer. To know more about volunteering with the trust and to make donations, you can log on to http://www.roctrust.org.nz

The trust works very hard to make the life of the refugees simple in their new home country. As the founders of the trust have themselves been through the problems and the issues faced by them, they can sympathise and give better solutions to them. Here is one of their successful client story.

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Baby steps taken by many more trusts and organizations like ROCT can give the refugees hope of living a healthy, happy, and safe life.