Its purpose is to encourage everyone around New Zealand to make a special effort to connect with their neighbours.

It will be marked by hundreds of event large and small that will take place between 22nd - 31st March.

Neighbours Day Aotearoa is a collaborative campaign organised and supported by Lifewise, Inspiring Communities, The Mental Health Foundation, Christchurch Methodist Mission, New Zealand Red Cross, Neighbourhood Support New Zealand and Housing New Zealand. Read more

New Zealanders pride themselves on being friendly, but not everyone experiences a sense of community or connection.

The 2016 Quality of Life survey reveals an increasing number of New Zealanders think neighbourliness in on the decline.

The Quality of Life Survey seeks to capture perceptions of well-being in nine to twelve major cities in New Zealand every two years.

Between 2004 and 2016, there is a marked decrease in neighbourliness reflected by respondents.

In 2016, 77 percent of New Zealanders surveyed believe it is important to have a sense of community, but only 58 percent said they actually experience a sense of community

In 2004, 88 percent of respondents said that they had positive interactions with their neighbours such as visiting, having a chat or asking for small favours.

In the most recent survey in 2016, only 42 percent of respondents reported having similar positive interactions with their neighbours.

The 2014 New Zealand General Social Survey reveals that one in seven New Zealanders feel isolated or lonely some or most of the time

Social Justice Week was established by the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference in 1997 as an ongoing commitment in the Catholic calendar for the week beginning the second Sunday of September

It is a time to consider, reflect and take action on a particular current social justice issue in the light of Catholic social teaching.

Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand has prepared a number of resources for Social Justice week including a liturgy resources, a reflection brochure and a power point presentation.

Source

• Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand
• Image: Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand

The neighbourhood programmes support groups of 8 - 15 people to pursue small businesses in areas such as: tapa cloth and mat weaving; chicken and pig raising; growing crops; and fishing.

The income earned supports school fees and other household needs like food.

Tapa cloth mats are marketed locally and overseas. The neighbourhood programmes aim to help 425 families in 21 villages in Tongatapu and Vava'u.

Lisa Vehikite is the leader of a tapa-making (cloth-making) neighbourhood.

Lisa's husband works in Australia picking fruit for seven months each year. She has five children at home in Utulau Village on the main island of Tongatapu.

The Income she earns through the tapa making group helps pay her children's school fees.She heard about the neighbourhood programmes at a community meeting where Caritas Tonga's Amelia Ma'afu spoke.

"This project makes me feel like I am a real mother ... someone else is helping us to do our work at home," says Lisa. Her dream is to one day have her own handicraft shop.

Source

• Blog.caritas.org
• Caritas.org.nz
• Image: Caritas.org.nz