The Refugee Orientation Centre Trust

The Refugee Orientation Centre (ROC) is a centre in Kirikiriroa Hamilton dedicated to helping former refugees to thrive in Aotearoa, not just survive. It provides over 14 programmes designed to empower former refugees and disadvantaged migrants to become socially and economically independent, and to see themselves as assets of Aotearoa New Zealand.

These programmes include:

  • Road Code courses for Learners Licence, available in Spanish, Kinyarwanda, Dari, Urdu and Somali. Also, practical driving lessons with an Instructor or Supervisor in a dual brake vehicle.
  • Support for former refugees in dealing with government departments, such as Work and Income and Immigration New Zealand, schools, service providers and banks and other services such as Community Law Waikato, where necessary.
  • An After School programme/Study Support Centre which runs 5 days a week for primary and intermediate school students to build their confidence and develop good communication abilities. Students are also supported with school subjects such as English, Mathematics, and Information Technology.  Parents are not charged any fees for these programmes.
  • Catch Up programmes for high-school students with NCEA subjects one-on-one in areas such as English, Mathematics and Science.  No fees charged.
  • Computer Skills Workshops
  • Free Holiday Programmes each school break for 5 days supported by volunteers and community organisations. No fees charged.

Other programmes include: 

  • ROC International Garden where a plot of land is allocated to each family, and a garden manager helps them learn the best way to grow things in Hamilton, 
  • Youth Camps providing opportunities for refugee youth to experience the beauty of Aotearoa New Zealand’s outdoors,
  • ROC Football Club which assists football teams of boys and girls from the University of Waikato to attend tournaments around the North Island, 
  • Internship opportunities for people completing a course of study or looking for work experience in a certain field. We currently offer internships in Accounting, Administration and Graphic Design

 Refer to the website for newsletters and other events and activities.