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News / Scholarship, in honour of the Polish children and caregivers of Pahiatua

Scholarship, in honour of the Polish children and caregivers of Pahiatua

February 4, 2025

Kate Edger Foundation award, in honour of Polish children and caregivers arriving in Pahiatua $2,000

This scholarship commemorates the arrival in 1944 of the 733 Polish children and their mainly female caregivers who, initially deported from Eastern Poland to Siberia during World War II, were invited by the New Zealand government to stay in Pahīatua (Manawatū region). Many of these children, most of them orphans and without their families, remained in New Zealand when they could not return to Poland, building new lives in their ‘paradise’.

Recognising women committed to community engagement or cultural preservation, this scholarship is intended to assist a female student currently in Year 12 or 13, who will be enrolling full-time for a degree or diploma at an approved tertiary institute in the Auckland or Northland region in 2026.  The payment of $2,000 is available to contribute towards the payment of fees or living costs associated with tertiary study.

Value: $2,000

Closing date: 18th October 2025