Our Values
Whakapapa, Manaakitanga and Puāwaitanga.
About
Our vision is a thriving Aotearoa where every ethnic community feels safe, valued and empowered.
Our mission is to offer migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers a safe and culturally sensitive environment in which to gain support, accurate information and a better understanding. We support at-risk families and vulnerable children through intervention, prevention, advocacy and education, delivered by staff fluent in the languages and cultures of their clients.
Over the past 5 years, over 800 clients have received our services and together with their Whanau we have impacted the lives of over 2500 people.
NZESS Impact
We have been on a challenging journey!
Aging ethnic population, Increasing cultural gaps between whanau and their rangatahi, Increasing levels of isolation depression and anxiety, Unemployment and rising cost of living, rise of Islamophobia and extremism
Our Funders & Supporters
Our Officers
Abbas Koleini
BCom, MCom (Finance), CPP
Experienced corporate finance and pricing professional
Board Responsibility: Treasurer,
Risk & Compliance
Bruce Keeley
BSc, Dip Tchg, LTh, Mphil
Anglican Church parish ministry and chaplaincy, as well as leadership in interfaith dialogue.
Board Responsibility: Secretary,
Communication & Advocacy
Anmar Taufeek
BE (Civil), PMI - PMP
Experienced Corporate Health, Safety & Quality Manager, several other governance roles in charitable trusts
Board Responsibility: Chair person,
Health & Safety, Quality
Risk & Compliance
Mehdi Shahbazpour
BE (Hons), PhD
Leadership experience across multiple sectors, including academia, industry and community.
Responsibility: Manager
Maryum Nasir
MA (Applied Social Work), PGDip Supervision
Working in a quality improvement and risk management role with a teaching and social work career background.
Board Responsibility: Risk & Compliance
Kauthar Sabri
BA Social
Work Experienced social worker, with specialties in youth and adult mental health.
Board Responsibility: Deputy Chair,
Compliance & Advocacy
Our Staff
Adam Brown
NZAC Registered Counsellor
Ph.D. in Comparative Study of Religions and Philosophy, Master's degree in Counselling, Diploma of Management and Leadership, Level3 Certificate in Child Protection, Fluent in Persian and English
Sorraya Raja
Family Supporter
Advanced Diploma of Community Sector Management. Experienced bilingual tutor with the Ministry of Education, and experienced administrative assistant. Fluent in Farsi, Urdu, English and Punjabi
Marwa Alsakini
Family Supporter
Bachelor of Information Technology experienced administrative assistant and management, fluent in Arabic
Yara
Community navigator fluent in Arabic and English. Background in accounting and business administration. Experienced in supporting ethnic communities in NZ.
Amna Al Shawaf
Operations & Quality Lead
Experienced in administration, event management, community outreach and supporting a range of ethnic communities. Fluent in English and Arabic
Sorraya Raja
Family Supporter
Advanced Diploma of Community Sector Management. Experienced bilingual tutor with the Ministry of Education, and experienced administrative assistant. Fluent in Farsi, Urdu, English and Punjabi
Marzieh Etemadi
Community Navigator
Supporting Persian communities and focusing on aiding senior ethnic members of communities to settle in NZ. Fluent in Persian and English.
Raziya
Description goes here
Azita Kusari
Senior Social Worker
Master of Social Work, Bachelor of Counselling, Certificate in Social Science, Fluent in Persian, English, Turkish, Kurdish
Narges
Description goes here
Sura
Description goes here
Golnaz Jalilvand
Digital Project Lead
Master of Computer Application
Contact us
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