New Zealand Ethnic Women’s Trust
The New Zealand Ethnic Women’s Trust is a long-standing, community-led organisation based in Auckland that empowers women from refugee and migrant backgrounds to thrive in Aotearoa. Their mission is to enhance ethnic women’s well-being, leadership, and participation through culturally grounded programmes and support services. They create safe spaces where women can build confidence, strengthen skills, and foster community connection.
The Trust primarily supports women from ethnic minority backgrounds, particularly former refugees and recent migrants.
Their services include sewing and craft groups, driver licensing courses, parenting workshops, financial literacy and leadership development programmes, and community navigation support. They also host events celebrating cultural diversity and heritage.
The Trust works with women from Middle Eastern, African, South Asian, and Southeast Asian backgrounds. Recently, they began supporting Somali mothers in Hamilton, following a request from that local community.
The Trust was approached by Somali mothers in Hamilton who had heard of their work in Auckland and reached out seeking similar culturally appropriate support. These women were looking for ways to connect, reduce isolation, and build a local support network.
Although the Trust had robust systems and experience in Auckland, they recognised the need to upskill new volunteers and emerging leaders in Hamilton to ensure the initiative could be community-led and sustainable. They turned to ANCAD for assistance with basic governance and financial training tailored to this new group.
The goal was to empower the Somali women in Hamilton to lead their own initiative under the Trust’s support framework, while ensuring accountability and good governance from the outset.
The Trust had previously worked with Eva Chen, who introduced them to ANCAD’s Ethnic Communities Programme as a helpful resource for building community capacity in a new region.
They valued ANCAD’s grassroots approach and cultural understanding, and were encouraged by the availability of practical, beginner-friendly support around governance and community accounting – key needs for the Hamilton team.
ANCAD provided targeted training in community accounting and basic governance for the Trust’s new team in Hamilton. This support aimed to equip the group with foundational knowledge to manage local initiatives responsibly and confidently.
Training was delivered through a combination of Zoom and in-person sessions, making it accessible and flexible for both Auckland-based staff and the Hamilton team.
The community accounting programme was especially beneficial, and the governance workshop – if made freely accessible – could be helpful going forward. The Trust also highlighted the practical advice and support provided by ANCAD accountant Glen Hill as being particularly valuable.
While the Auckland-based team remained steady and self-sufficient, the new Hamilton group gained the skills and confidence needed to begin their work effectively. The targeted training helped lay the groundwork for responsible programme delivery and local leadership development.
The Hamilton initiative now has the systems and basic knowledge in place to grow sustainably. They’ve started engaging with local partners and are exploring funding opportunities in the Waikato region with increased confidence and clarity.
A local network has been established, offering regular gatherings for Somali mothers to share experiences, build connections, and engage in culturally relevant workshops. Early momentum has been promising, with strong community participation.
Participants have expressed feeling less isolated and more supported, and some have shown interest in taking on leadership roles to shape the direction of future activities. The group’s sense of ownership and enthusiasm is growing.
The Trust found ANCAD’s support to be approachable, practical, and culturally appropriate. They appreciated that ANCAD respected their existing strengths and provided just the right amount of support to uplift new leaders without taking over the process.
The Trust recommends the ANCAD programme for groups looking to build internal capacity in new regions or for smaller organisations beginning their journey. ANCAD’s flexible and community-centred approach makes it highly relevant for ethnic communities.
The next step is to continue strengthening the leadership of the Hamilton group and to support them in designing their own locally driven activities. The Trust hopes ANCAD can remain a supportive partner, especially through continued access to training and mentoring as new needs arise.
