During a ceremony they are unlikely to forget, 23 people from our district received their citizenship certificates from Mayor Craig Rowley on Tuesday 19 August at the Waimate Event Centre. Eight countries were represented: Australia, Germany, Nauru, New Zealand, Philippines, Scotland, Tuvalu and the United Kingdom.
Mayor Rowley welcomed the participants and their friends and family and thanked them for their desire to make New Zealand their home and their country. He said that the ceremony was one of his favourite duties as Mayor
and that this was the second largest group the district had seen. He noted the various countries of origin and expressed his pride in the growing diversity of the district.
After each person spoke the oath or affirmation of citizenship and received their certificate, they took the microphone to say a few words. Many praised New Zealand and Waimate itself as a great place to live.
Marieta Liscano Chan from the Philippines had a speech prepared. She said the rising crime in her island home of Mindanao had begun to cloud her faith in humanity. A turning point came when her husband was offered a job on a dairy farm in Waimate in 2008 and she joined him the following year. “Sometimes life tends to take you to exactly where you need to be,” she said. “It’s here that we learned how powerful community can be.”
To welcome the new citizens, students from Waimate High School performed a waiata and a haka and then led everyone in the National Anthem, first in Maori and then in English. To complete the ceremony, a presentation by the Department of Internal Affairs was played, featuring addresses by the Governor-General and the Minister of Internal Affairs. Refreshments were served for a relaxed mix and mingle, and the assembly moved outside for photographs.
Pictured L-R: Aaliyah Monoy Barros; Jan Rommell Villalba Barros;
Sheri Monoy Barros; Jemimah Leah Demate Francisco; Petelu Tuia; Claire Anne
Cruz Barrientos; Joanee Demate Bartlett; Jnr Paiaa Lourdezious Tuia; Hiera Shyn
Cruz Barrientos; Mayor Craig Rowley; Peter Lloyd Bland; Marieta Liscano Chan;
Philip Pagote Chan; Chris Anne Cruz Barrientos; Daphne Arzagon Del Castillo;
Anna Laing; Johanna Ruth Sutherland; Krizza Mae Cruz Barrientos; Wendy Marlene
Swatridge; Noelean Tealei Haleti; Ronel Mamay Barrientos; Hazel Cruz Barrientos;
Christopher Sidney Swatridge.
