By CATHY ARONSON
HAMILTON - Somali refugee Abdirizak Abdi struggled to continue his education when he arrived in New Zealand in 1993 and now he wants to make the transition easier for other refugee students.
Mr Abdi is one of five refugee education coordinators the Ministry of Education has just appointed around the country.
He knows from personal experience the difficulty refugees can face fitting into the New Zealand education system.
Two months after he arrived in the country and settled in Hamilton he started a bachelor of science degree at Waikato University part-time. But he dropped out the following year, daunted by the system but also because he wanted to help his family to leave their refugee camp in Kenya.
However, after they joined him in Hamilton he went back to Waikato and graduated in 1997.
Mr Abdi now wants to help others who are struggling to rebuild their lives through education.
The appointment of the refugee coordinators follows a decision to give a $6.6 million boost over four years to teaching children, and now refugees, English as a second language (Esol).
The boost almost doubles the funding per student to $1100 for primary pupils and $1700 for those at secondary school.
Ministry Esol coordinator Lily Lee said the money would allow schools to develop programmes to benefit the refugees, their families and other children in the classroom.
She said the ministry recognised that school-age refugees had special education and language needs.
Mr Abdi said he would draw on his experience to help schools to assess each student and custom-design programmes to help him or her. "I will act as a bridge between the schools and the refugees. It's a stab in the right direction."
He said some refugees had been out of school for eight years, most could not speak English and those who had been at school overseas had experienced different education systems.
"Their experiences are different but they have all come through problems and, for many, New Zealand life and education is a shock. This is why we have to plan ahead and help them cope better. The repercussions of not helping will not be good for them, their families or the country."
Mr Abdi said that when he came to NZ he had an extra advantage because he spoke English, had a Somali diploma in management and had been displaced for three years.
However, he had suffered the loss of a brother and relatives during his country's civil war.
Mr Abdi is active in Hamilton's refugee and migrant service, has researched immigrant employment barriers for the Department of Work and Income and was ethnic coordinator for the Hamilton City Council. He previously worked voluntarily helping schools to cope with refugees.
Experienced hand aids refugees
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