Home in time for Easter

Covid-19 and the subsequent lock down has meant times of uncertainty for Kavanagh's international student community. Students and their parents were faced with the difficult decision as to whether they should stay in New Zealand or return home. Thankfully, most parents decided that New Zealand was the safest place to be and placed their trust in Kavanagh and the homestay parents, who continue in their great care of our international students during these challenging times.

Students who were due to return home in April - such as Helene Buege from Germany (pictured) - faced a different challenge. Scheduled flights were cancelled, followed by conflicting messages around repatriation flights. After two weeks of uncertainty and many false starts, Helene received less than 24 hours confirmation that she needed to pack her bags and get to Christchurch as soon as she could. Along with four other German students, Helene took an essential services bus from Dunedin to Christchurch where she boarded a German repatriation flight with hundreds of other nationals, arriving home in time to celebrate Easter with her family. 

Kia kaha Helene - we are sad that your time in New Zealand had to end, but we hope that you had a great adventure.