Staff Reporter
Community Mentors and the Office of Ethnic Communities (OEC) have announced a new initiative to provide mentoring support to organisations that assist new migrants and refugees to settle in their new country.
Community Mentors Chief Executive Ray Schofield and OEC Director Berlinda Chin said that more than 500 experienced community mentors volunteer their time to guide, support and develop the fibre of thriving communities.
“We want to contribute to a New Zealand that welcomes and celebrates diversity, where refugees and migrants settle well and are able to contribute to our nation in all aspects of life – social, economic, civic and cultural,” they said.
Community mentors provide one-to-one, confidential and deep experience in the challenges of running a social enterprise.
“One of the key issues facing community organisations is the difficulty of separating good governance from operational management. A community mentor helps develop strategies to do that and provides a sounding board to take the organisation to the next level,” Mr Schofield said.
