Three committee members travelled to Palmerston North for a Inner Wheel District Meeting. We took a boot load of household goods to add to the many goods already donated by Inner Wheel clubs in our district for the Red Cross, to be given to refugees in the area. A member from the Red Cross spoke about the work they do for refugees in Palmerston North.
The guest speaker was Sivleag Ung. She spoke to us about her life as a child in Cambodia during the civil war and the brutal Po Pot regime.
She came to New Zealand in 1981 as a 16 year old refugee. Her family moved from town to town to try and keep safe.
Families were separated, many were killed, her older sister was taken away, she watched her younger sister die.
In 1978 the family moved into a refugee camp on the boarder of Thailand, run by the Red Cross. From there the family moved to New Zealand in 1981 and spent time in the Mangre Refugee Centre in Auckland.
Siveag learnt English and became a Registered Nurse. She has a son who is a Biochemical Engineer, and a daughter who went into Medicine.
She said she feels blessed and grateful for her new life here in New Zealand.
This is not an unfamiliar story which sadly we have heard many times.
The District meeting was a very worth while day.
New Members very welcome for more information phone 0226533510
