Homes Sought For 20 Asian Students

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30064, 23 February 1963, Page 13

Homes Sought For 20 Asian Students

(From Our Own Reporter) WELLINGTON, February 22. About 20 students, coming to New Zealand for the first time this year under the Colombo Plan and the special Commonwealth aid to Africa plan, will arrive in Christchurch during the next week or two.

When the Prime Minister (Mr Holyoake) announced this tonight, he said that he hoped the majority of them would have the opportunity of living in New Zealand homes as members of the family. Mr Holyoake said that most of the new students needing homes in Christchurch would be from the Federation of Malaya, Singapore and Vietnam. The Prime Minister appealed to the people of Christchurch to support the campaign being organised by the Department of External Affairs with the help of the Students’ Association * and many voluntary workers arranged through the PanPacific Women’s Association. He said that an overseas student was not only confronted with the same difficulties as a local student in finding his way about the university in his first year, but in addition had the much more formidable problem of learning to adjust himself to the conditions of living in a society entirely different from anything he had known before. “Experience has shown

that the opportunity of livprocess of adjustment,” Mr Holyoake said. An effort would be made to meet the wishes of families who preferred to have a boy or a girl or a student of some particular nationality, but it would obviously be impossible to meet all the preferences of hosts and hostesses. Mr Holyoake said that while sometimes, and particularly during this last summer, the students had been free to join in the life ing in a New Zealand family is a tremendous help in this of the community in which they were living, from now on those enrolling in the university would be working very hard during the academic year. For the most part their interest would be in having quiet conditions for their study. “For the most part they are very serious students and some attention will have to be paid to questions such as transport facilities, as the majority will be reluctant to give too much of their time to travelling to and from their classes,” he said. “Brothers” for Asians The university’s liaison officer, Mr E. R. Hounsell, is still in need of more offers to board the students for this year. A service provided by the Students’ Association committee for helping these students concerns the provision of “brothers” for newlyarrived Asian students. Each student will be allocated a “brother” who will show the new arrival around the university and the city. Unfortunately, many of the students appear to be arriving in Christchurch while their intended “brothers” are still on vacation, so that Mr Hounsell will welcome offers from Christian students to undertake this service.

The first new Colombo Plan students for 1963, two men from Singapore, arrived in Christchurch on Thursday A further eight, three from Vietnam and five from Malaya, will arrive on the ferry from Wellington this morning.

The students' committee receives information about Colombo Plan students from the External Affairs Department, but has no way of knowing of the pending arrival of private students from Asian countries. A member of the committee said yesterday that if any private students had already arrived in Christchurch, they should get in touch with the committee through Mr Hounsell. 22 Students Expected The committee has been impressed with the response from Christchurfh people, both as hosts and as “brothers,” but more of each are still required. It is thought that there will be 22 new Colombo Plan students at the university this year, in addition to those studying privately. Offers of occasional hospitality, such as week-ends in the country, or meals with a family, are also being gratefully accepted. The students will attend a welcome dinner, held with the assistance of the International Club on March 9. This will be followed by the first club coffee evening which will be attended by all overseas students and all who have offered help or hospitality in Christchurch.

Mr D. A. Cooke, chairman of the students’ organising committee, yesterday expressed his thanks to the many people who had offered to assist with this project His committee hopes that they will be able to express their thanks more personally at the March 9 coffee evening.