MIGRANT ACTION TRUST
“Action when you need it”

"meaningful economic, social and political engagement of migrants and refugees leads to their healthy integration into society"

Kia ora tatou katoa

The Migrant Action Trust (MAT) helps migrants and refugees to settle in New Zealand. It understands how difficult immigration can be and so offers support from the moment migrants arrive to help them become fully integrated into New Zealand society.

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New Zealand is home to over 200 ethnicities. Migrants aspire to a better life and especially want to raise their families in a secure and safe environment, just like all New Zealanders do. The influx of migrants poses a lot of challenges for New Zealand because the experience of immigration differs from one ethnicity to another. This is the niche of the Migrant Action Trust (MAT) whereby understanding the settlement process from both sides – the host country and the migrants – is promoted, encouraged and advocated.

MAT honours the Treaty of Waitangi and acknowledges the Maori people as the tangata whenua of New Zealand. It also acknowledges that one of its responsibilities is to ensure that migrants do the same.

To achieve the vision and mission of MAT, it provides three programmes: Migrants Supporting Migrants, Assimilation to Integration, Supporting Groups. Holistic in nature, MAT operates from a common sense, humanistic, relationship building and community level approach.

The Hon. Tariana Turia’s speech at the Migrant Action Trust’s 7th anniversary celebration, December 2010

Our Programmes

Migrants Supporting Migrants	Assimilation to Intergration	Supporting Groups
A common sense approach that is tailored to the needs of migrants looking for work Provides training and support to migrants to help them get meaningful jobs	Programmes that enhance the well-being of migrants after they find employment Organises discussion forums that encourage the meaningful, social and political engagement of migrants and refugees	Enables groups to have more time to help their own communities Provides training, services and mentoring to build and grow the capability of volunteers and community groups Supports and partners with other groups in their community projects and initiatives