KiwiTalk: Connecting a Local Church with Its Migrant Community
Saturday mornings at St David’s Community Church, Hillsborough, Auckland, are filled with conversation and connection. Migrants are welcomed and directed to a table suitable for their English level. Newcomers, as well as those who have called New Zealand home for years, value a safe space to practice their English conversation skills with fluent speakers. After some general chatting, the day’s topic is introduced from the front. It may be water safety, cooking, job hunting, or places to visit in New Zealand. Then it is up to the group facilitators at each table to facilitate discussion around the table.
From a Lack of Connection to Reconnected
St David’s has had a long history of connection with its local community. For 65 years, church members taught Bible in Schools classes at the local school. But, when this season came to an end in 2020, Covid restrictions, an aging church congregation, and a changing local community contributed to a loss of connection between the church and its local community.
In April 2024, the leadership at St David’s bravely chose to employ Rachael Cox in a part-time Community Engagement role, instead of a Minister. With an English language teaching background, Rachael had already developed “KiwiTalk” to help a city-based church connect with its multicultural community. Now based in a suburban context, Rachael noticed similar challenges amongst migrants in the Hillsborough community – migrants were often lonely and isolated, finding it difficult to gain NZ employment experience and needing a space to build their confidence. Plus, the St David’s congregation had large spaces as well as a wonderful resource of older adults who could foster a safe space for migrants to practice their communication skills.
One Family’s Journey
One such family came to New Zealand from Sri Lanka several months ago. Rachael initially met this family while teaching a community class (for Employ NZ) at The Salvation Army and invited them along to KiwiTalk for additional conversational practice. A ‘KiwiTalk Kids’ trial last term, held at the same time as the adult session, enabled their daughter to come to KiwiTalk too, strengthening connections with the whole family.
The husband is studying IT, while his wife, with experience in caregiving, was discouraged after submitting over 100 job applications to no avail. Knowing that a Communicare Friendship Group meets at St David’s on Thursday mornings, Rachael suggested she become a Communicare volunteer to gain valuable New Zealand experience. This young woman has grown in confidence and become an asset to the Communicare team. Participating in our activities twice a week has built a stronger sense of belonging, to the extent that her elderly landlord has joined Communicare, with both families joining our Community BBQ in December. This story is an example of how co-operation between organisations like St David’s, The Salvation Army, EmployNZ, and Communicare can holistically support new migrant families as they settle, integrate, and begin to contribute to New Zealand society.
Resources:
Article: Mira Kim, Jemma Clifton, Anneli Strutt. (20xx). Enhancing English Language Proficiency and Well‑being in EAL International PhD Students: The Impact of Personalised Autonomous Learning. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10755-023-09695-0.pdf
KiwiTalk Website: https://kiwitalk.org.nz
St David’s Community Church Website: https://sdfcweblog.wordpress.com/
Communicare Website: https://www.communicare.org.nz
EmployNZ (Transforming lives through practical courses of study): https://employnz.co.nz/english-language-courses-auckland/