The Friends of Refugees Trust was formed in 2001 by a group of volunteer support workers who had been assigned by the Refugee and Migrant Service (now Refugee Services Aotearoa) to work with households of Karen refugees from Burma on the North Shore. We formed the trust initially to support the Rawene Centre, a community centre established by the Birkenhead Community Church at 33-35 Rawene Rd, near the Birkenhead Library. The Rawene Centre had made the Karen refugees welcome on the Shore, providing free classes in English, driving and computing, plus childcare and even a soccer team - yet after some short-term support from WINZ, they had to rely solely on voluntary workers and donations. We attended some of the events which the Rawene Centre hosted for the refugees, and we wanted to help to raise money for the centre's work.
Once we decided to form a trust, however, we gave it broad goals so that the legal structure could be used in the future for any activity that supports refugees. Our aim is stated in our constitution as "to assist refugees in need within New Zealand to meet their educational, economic and social welfare needs" .