Good Projects

Driver licences for women from refugee backgrounds

We support Turning the Curve, an initiative of the Changemakers Resettlement Forum in Wellington that works with women from refugee backgrounds to obtain their full driver’s licence. The initiative allows women to learn how to drive at their own pace with the support of other local women who mentor them after their initial driving lessons with a certified instructor.

Good Shepherd NZ supports this programme by providing operational funding and support for the administration and development of the programme.

Economic abuse

Good Shepherd NZ has begun working in the area of economic abuse., a form of family violence. In collaboration with our Women’s Research, Advocacy and Policy (WRAP) team at Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand, we released a report in 2018 into economic abuse. The report was developed in consultation with more than 50 frontline workers and policy makers – from community groups, financial institutions, government agencies, legal support services, and importantly, women with first-hand experience of economic abuse. The report found that the issue is widespread and the impacts are long lasting, so there is much work to be done across sectors to improve the way we respond.

Good Shepherd NZ has recently employed an advisor to begin working on some of the recommendations from the report.

Microfinance network support

Good Shepherd NZ supports the wider microfinance community with networking events and resources, for people working in microfinance and other stakeholders to get together and share ideas. The Microfinance Resources section below has information about topics that may be of useful to people working in, or interested in, microfinance in New Zealand.

If you are interested in microfinance and want to be on our mailing list please email us at microfinance@goodshep.org.nz. We’d love to hear from you!