Diana Johnstone

29/5/1962 to 14/10/2019

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Dear All,

With Diana’s one year anniversary on the 14 th October, I thought it was timely to give you an update on the Diana Johnstone (DJ) Refugee Trust that we set up shortly after she passed away.

Wellington East Girls College was a big part of Di’s life and in particular, the refugee and migrant community who made up the school’s International Student Group with whom she was very involved with.

With your help and generosity we have set up a fund in her memory to support the families of those students that were so dear to her heart. The fund has accumulated close to $10,000 and continues to grow.

These funds are administered by Wellington East and are used to provide resources for new arrivals from refugee and migrant families enrolling at the school. These resources include (but are not limited to) school uniforms and Chromebooks for new students from countries such as Syria, Colombia Somalia, Myanmar and many more. Our goal is to establish a growing and sustainable fund that may also be able to support easier access to extra-curricular activities and possible scholarships that could lead on to support in tertiary education.

Linda Todd, who was Di’s manager and good friend at East, continues to be a driving force in the DJ Refugee Trust and the refugee and migrant community. Three weeks ago the school held their annual Success evening which is organised by Linda. The dancer in the photo is Teshalini, who is from Sri Lanka. Her father was a Tamil tiger who was killed when she was 7. She was one of the cultural prefects this year and is off to Otago to do Health Science. She arrived in New Zealand 4 years ago with no English!

In addition to regular financial contributions from family and friends we have had some other notable and generous gifts donated. These include:

• Proceeds from a portrait of Di painted by Kim Dunkley – shown. Value $1600.
• Proceeds from the sale of a canoe, hand made by Dick Tisdall. This is still to be sold, so any offers over $5000 (noting you can claim on donations) are welcome. Or you may know of an interested buyer? Enquiries to Richard.Tisdall@ampro.co.nz

Di would be thrilled to know that the trust has been established in her name to allow refugees and new immigrants to have a great start to their new lives in New Zealand.

Thank you for your kindness and generosity in getting the trust established. The challenge now is to make it sustainable, so welcome your ongoing support and thoughts on how we can do that.

Best wishes,

Alex, Jamie, Kate and Hamish