Guest Speaker from Volunteer Kapiti

Hope you have all had a great weekend in the sunshine!  Long may it continue.  The trip to the church was very interesting (albeit it noisy and a bit hectic with all the children running around) and it was lovely to catch up a bit afterwards at the cafe.

This week: Friday 25th February we have a guest speaker coming to our morning session at The Kapiti Women's Centre - Christine Bongiovanni from Volunteer Kapiti.  Volunteering is a great way of meeting others, getting work experience and also getting a kiwi referee or reference. It may be a good stepping stone for some before applying for paid employment and Christine will be telling us how to become involved.

Employment Workshop:  I now have 9 people for the employment workshop and still need another three.  I have found someone who is willing to come and speak to the group on Friday 25th March in the afternoon 1-2.30pm at The Kapiti Women's Centre and really need people to confirm with me that they are able to attend.  There will be a creche to be available for an hour however there will be limited spaces and you will need to book in.  There will be a minimal charge for this of around $1.50 - $2 per child.

Lastly and most Excitingly: We have been asked to be part of a 'Race Relations Day Event' along with the Ethnic Forum Group and the Kapiti International Friendship Group.  This will be held at  Paekakariki Memorial Hall from 11-2pm, with set up occurring from 9am, on Saturday 26th March.  It is a family event so everyone is welcome.  As it is a 'bring a plate' event we all need to bring a plate of food from our homelands for others to share.  There is also the opportunity for you, family or friends to perform, sell goods (with a donation back into the kitty) and be compensated for costs if you wish to make something that everyone will want a taste of. 

We will have a stall at the event where you can present things with any musical items/performances to be on stage at a scheduled time.  If we could all spare at least 30 mins on that day to help it will mean that the work is shared and everyone can enjoy the event.  We had a few ideas about the children singing a nursery rhyme in various languages at the morning tea on Friday and so that we can clarify ideas I will have a brainstorming meeting on at my place next Wednesday 2nd March from 7.30pm.  This way we can work out what people are willing to do and when people can help.

Latest News

Hi Everyone.  Hope you have all had a good week and weekend - despite the seemingly constant drizzle and rain.  Finally feel like I'm drying out a little! The Waitangi Celebrations were really good with free bouncy castles and face painting for the kids as well as free refreshments for the adults.  Best of all they weren't too long!

I have only had feedback from 6 people about the employment workshop.  Please let me know ASAP if you are interested in attending a workshop about applying for jobs in New Zealand and other issues around employment. 

Talking to some members of the group it seems that volunteering is a good way to get into the NZ workforce, pick up some kiwi terminology used in certain positions and if nothing else get a New Zealand referee and reference.  I have booked (to be confirmed) someone from Volunteer Kapiti to come over and talk to the group about volunteering on Wednesday 23rd February at our shared lunch.  Until we have an employment workshop confirmed this could be a great stepping stone for those of you thinking about applying for jobs. 

So after some thought and a bit of response about the questions I sent out I have made some executive decisions.  Check out the events link for changes but to summarize;

• Friday 18th February visit to Rangiatea Church. 
• Friday 1st of April Buggy Walk. 
• Wednesday 23rd February speaker from Volunteer Kapiti. 

Hope to see you all soon.

Into February already

Hard to believe that the first month of the year has flown by already.  Now it is time for getting kids back to school and getting back to work.  We will be starting back at the Women's Centre next week too, as they are only open during term time, and I am still working on getting a guest speaker in to talk about employment issues.

Would it suit to have the guest speakers on Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning?  The Women's Centre is such a great venue (hot drinks, kid's toys, outside garden and large room) however not many of us are making it to the shared lunch on a regular basis.  They are unable to offer us a morning slot and so I am wondering if it is better to just meet for morning tea each week or do people think they will come to a shared lunch (probably suit those without napping kids) one week and morning tea the next.  Can you let me know as I will have to make a decision this term.

This week we have two events to join in with; the Sport Wellington Buggy walk (Thursday 3rd) and Waitangi Day celebrations at Tainui Marae (Sunday 6th).  Hopefully the Summer behaves itself and we can enjoy good weather for both days! The walk this Thursday is approximately 1 hr long beginning at 10.30am, meeting at 10.15 at the picnic area by Whareroa Beach. If you click on the word 'Upcoming Events' on the right hand side there is a link for the Sport Wellington website which will give the full details.

Waitangi Day is a very special event in New Zealand and one that has also been surrounded with controversy.  Maori were the only indigenous people of the time to form any kind of agreement or treaty with the English however the wording of the treaty and interpretation have been hotly debated ever since.  See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waitangi_Day more information.  We have been invited to the celebrations at Tainui Marae in Otaki which start at 10am, this is on Convent Road (half way between the State Highway and Otaki Beach).  See Google maps for the best directions from you.

Look forward to seeing you all soon.

We've hit the news!

After a couple of phone interviews a reporter from The Kapiti Observer is writing an article about our group which should be in this Thursday's edition of the paper.  Check it out!! 

The reporter is planning to come by on Friday and take a photo of all of us for another article at a later date, possibly in connection with an event, which will be great for creating interest in the group and encouraging more members to come along.

I was thinking about having guest speakers this term and wondered what you all think.  It would be great if you could give me and idea for the kind of topics that interest you.  Settlement Support can offer workshops, if there is enough interest, about various aspects of New Zealand life and law which may be of use.  These would probably be during the shared lunches on a Wednesday as it is a great facility for a group as well as having toys for the kids.

Let me know your thoughts and I can get organizing.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone!  Hope you all had a great break in the sunshine.  There is lots lined up from now till Easter and hopefully the changing venues and times will allow everyone to come along at least a few times. 

Our next planned meet up is this Thursday, 13th Jan 2011, in Campbell Park, Paekakariki.  This is the large playground on Wellington Rd before you get to Queen Elizabeth Park.  The outlook for Thursday (Oh quoting a bit of classic kiwi rock there!) is a bit mixed so if it is raining we'll just have an indoor picnic at mine.  I'll e-mail in the morning to confirm the venue.

We have also been invited to Waitangi Day celebrations on 6th February at Tainui Marae in Otaki.  This starts at 10am and is a family event so partners and other family members are all welcomed.  This will be a great opportunity to experience an important part of NZ culture.  Remember the hats and sunblock though as you may be outside in the heat for a while.

Apart from that check out the events tab (on the right had side of the screen) to see all the other dates and venues.  As always I will e-mail to remind you and if anyone has any suggestions of good venues please let me know.

New additions

Great to have so many of you part for Kapiti International Women's Group.  I know that our shared lunch is not at the greatest time of day so hopefully some of the other dates coming up between now and the end of Term 1 2011 will suit - I know planning way, way ahead. 

Thought I'd put some kind of  order to the blog so that you can find things a little easier.  There is now a link to upcoming dates on the right hand side of the page and one for recipes.  I have added my pizza recipe and would love any others that people have asked for - Yummy German Christmas biscuits fits in here! Just e-mail them to me and I'll add them.

I have highlighted one upcoming event - we are all invited to a free breakfast at the Community Centre in Paraparaumu.  This will be on 8th March 2011 from 7am to celebrate International Women's Day.  Children are welcome.  The other events worth a mention are on 3rd March and 14th April 2011.  Thought it would be nice to get out a couple of evenings a term for coffee and dessert.  Hopefully this means that those who work can join us once in a while.  If it is successful then we can arrange more frequent evening met ups. 

Hope to see you all at some point over the next few weeks, if not then have a great holiday break.

Upcoming meetings

Wednesday 1st December
Shared Lunch at Kapiti Women's Centre, 12.15pm - 2pm.  Bring some food to share.  Donations greatly appreciated for the use of the room and tea and coffee.

Thursday 9th December
Morning tea at El Rancho in Waikanae, 9am - 11am.  Cafe and playground on site to purchase drinks and food.

Wednesday 15th December
Shared Lunch at Kapiti Women's Centre, 12.15pm - 2pm.  Bring some food to share.  Donations greatly appreciated for the use of the room and tea and coffee.

Wednesday 22nd December (This is during school holiday)
Christmas morning tea, 9am-11am.  Bring some Christmas food or food that you would eat around this time.Venue to be confirmed

Thursday 13th January 2011
Morning tea or outing,  Venue or outing to be confirmed

Friday 21st January 2011
Morning tea 9.30-11.30am at Greet's.  Adrress to be confirmed via group e-mail.
Thursday 27th January or Friday 28th January 2011
Morning tea or outing.  Date to be confirmed. Venue or outing to be confirmed.

Thursday 3rd February or Friday 4th February 2011
Morning tea  9.30am - 11.30am .  Venue or outing to be confirmed.

Wednesday 9th February 2011
Shared Lunch at Kapiti Women's Centre, 12.15pm - 2pm.  Bring some food to share.  Donations greatly appreciated for the use of the room and tea and coffee.

Please feel free to e-mail me with any suggestions.