Press Release

The Auckland based The Afrikaans Club of New Zealand has demonstrated its commitment to a national focus when it approved a sponsorship of $2,000 to the Christchurch Central Library, for the acquisition of new Afrikaans language books.

This sponsorship follows after ‘Afrikaans in Christchurch' - a local website run by an enterprising husband and wife team, Jaco and Marietjie Swart - had been instrumental in realising the first ever Afrikaans collection in the Christchurch Central Library. This library also needs to be acknowledged and applauded for entertaining Marietjie's suggestions and for bringing the project to fruition.

This donation is additional to the very modest book collection donated by the Club some weeks ago, to strengthen the first collection facilitated between the Library and Ms Swart.

While accepting with appreciation the library management's willingness to support a gradual expansion of the collection, The Afrikaans Club and its members also support the principle of making its own financial contributions - where possible - to Kiwi institutions that support our migrant community so positively. There is high appreciation for the fact that New Zealanders are so willing to respect and empower migrant communities in different ways, hence our wish to make a small contribution.

In 2003 The Afrikaans Club initiated a similarly sized project with the East Coast Bays Library in Browns Bay, Auckland. That first collection was also modest, but the Club continued to raise funds, and two years later managed to donate $4,000 to the library for further expansion of the Afrikaans collection, and also facilitated the selection, purchase and transportation of the new books from South Africa. At the time Marietjie Swart was very interested in this project and we were delighted when she announced her intention to pursue a similar initiative in Christchurch.

The Afrikaans Club has 3 focus areas: the family, music & drama and ‘reaching out'.
We offer dance functions for South African migrant families in Auckland, with a special focus on Afrikaans speakers' cultural needs. We encourage members to cherish their identity, but also to be positively involved in Kiwi life.
We bring Afrikaans performing artists to NZ every year, to participate in our festival called KiwiKasie, celebrating our Afrikaans language and culture by also incorporating local Afrikaans talent into the programme. Where possible these artists are also taken to other centres in New Zealand, i.e. Christchurch.
The Club directs some projects to the wider Kiwi environment (see our website for details of our support given to the Auckland Museum's refurbishment project). The Club also invites our members to bring Kiwi friends to our social events. We encourage our members to contribute positively to NZ society.

The vast majority of Afrikaans speaking South African immigrants regard it as a priority that their children should adapt well in New Zealand and master English properly. Through our children's normal contact with teachers, friends and the media this element of their adaptation is very well developed in most instances.

But many of us also wish for our kids to have a command of our mother tongue. Research has shown that children who learn at an early age to be bilingual or multilingual have plenty of cognitive and cultural advantages (New Zealand Woman's Weekly, 12 January 2004). Since we are (at least) bilingual people from a country with eleven official languages, it is natural for many of us to accept the above as a realistic possibility, and fairly easy to achieve.

We increasingly find that Kiwi's understand that people's culture and language could be a stabilising factor in helping immigrants to settle down emotionally. It also is an extension of one's personality and humanity.

For more information on The Afrikaans Club, please visit www.afrikaans.org.nz, or telephone Philip Langenhoven at the number below.

Ends.

Philip Langenhoven
Public Relations Officer
The Afrikaans Club of New Zealand
Mobile: 027-657 2147