Faces of Selwyn

During this episode, we chat with Tony Gan. Tony grew up in a small fishing village in Malaysia, surrounded by coconut plantations and paddy fields. The peaceful living environment with a close-knit community is how Tony relates Selwyn to his hometown. We hear about how he has become a big part of the Darfield community.

In this episode, we meet Lu Hunter. Lu resided in Beijing, China and made her way to Selwyn after living in Auckland for 10 years. She says Selwyn is by far the smallest place she’s ever lived in but she wouldn’t have it any other way. We hear about her journey, and how she’s become part of the cultural integration process in Selwyn.

In this episode we sit down with Parminder Kaur who 14 years ago travelled to Aotearoa with her husband and two young children in hopes for a new adventure and lifestyle.

Living in Christchurch for majority of her time here, Parminder and her family moved to Selwyn last year where they built their dream home. Since then she has been a vital part of the Selwyn community, winning silver in the Community Volunteering category at Selwyn Awards this year. She has also become Chair of the IndianNZ association of Christchurch Inc. and The Women's Helping Hand Trust.

In this episode we chat to Daniela Jolly also known as Dani. Born in Argentina, Dani felt the need to leave her comfort nest and make the trip to Aotearoa New Zealand. The first three weeks of Dani’s stay in Christchurch were smooth, until the 2011 earthquakes hit and then everything she knew about New Zealand was gone.

Deciding to stick through the toughest times Christchurch has ever seen, she has settled in the Selwyn district with her family. We discuss why staying in New Zealand was the best decision Dani ever made.

In this episode we sit down with Amulya. Born in Birgunj; a city in the southern region of Nepal, he made his way to Aotearoa New Zealand after living in Australia for eight years. Nine years after arriving on Kiwi soil he’s proud to call Selwyn district his home and tells us about his journey, the challenges he faced and how he overcame them.

In this episode we chat to Marivic Buada also known as Becky. Originally from the Philippines, she tells us about her home country’s take on the well-known Christmas holiday. We chat about her journey here, prolonged stopovers in Australia and how she ultimately came to call Selwyn home.

Stories from newcomers who now call Selwyn home

Stories from newcomers who now call Selwyn home

Before coming to Selwyn, Razi Syed was born and bred a city boy in India, with no rural connection at all. Razi came to New Zealand in 2007 with his wife. They used to live in Christchurch city but would frequent Lincoln’s Coffee Culture, their favourite study spot. Nowadays Coffee Culture Lincoln is closer to where they live in Lincoln and Razi is also known by the local school for his naan recipe he introduced at his son's camp.

Keith Morrison was born in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, but grew up in the countryside of Alexandra, Central Otago. Later Keith discovered his cultural roots and focused on growing his own roots in soil by studying agriculture at Lincoln University. Keith then worked at the University of South Pacific where he fell in love with Samusu Village, Samoa.

He returned to Selwyn Huts and established a community garden to mimic what he had back in Samoa. Keith's favourite Samoan dish is Saka.