Help to save our Family / Dream

We got monthly money for the kids, called "Kindergeld" while we were still on a holiday here in New Zealand. Now they are asking us to pay it back because they do not believe we were on a holiday, so normally eligible to get the money.

We got a lawyer to get this all sorted and hopefully get the amount a bit down.

4 years ago my husband was working 6 days a week, each day about 10-12 hours in Germany. He missed so many things in the kids life. But that wasn't all, he got sick, he was very close to a burnout. That's when I said: 'STOP, you need a rest, you need to calm down! We don't want to loose you.' So I decided it's time take a break as family and sort our life.

3 years ago we started our journey in New Zealand, which has been my husbands biggest dream. What was planned as a family holiday, became our home / life. New Zealand feels like home. We never felt like being at home in Europe, but we were never able to explain why until we came here.

If we can't pay that back our debt to Germany within the next couple of months, we can't apply for our residence visa. This means we would have to go back to Germany, that would be the worst not just for us parents, but for our 4 kids. They feel like they fit in, in New Zealand and none of them want to go back to live in Europe. They are scared of going back to Germany. They wouldn't even manage to pass school there, as their german (especially writing) is very poor.

They are not only afraid of going back to Germany because of school, it's more what's going on in Europe at the moment. They are afraid of everything getting worse there very soon and they would end up in an unstable environment (and country). They feel safe here in Wellington, New Zealand. We all love that the people from so many different countries are living together and sharing everything. We love how these people help each other and stand together as one nation! We don't want to loose all of this. We are trying to save as much as we can, but that won't be fast enough.

Please help us to keep our dream to life here, in New Zealand, especially for our Kids.

My hubby (George) has been a football trainer for a Wellington junior football team since 3 years and I have been the manager. We love to help others for free. Our kids are all part of the community. Anytime a friend needs help, we are there to help. We are always trying our best to help others and we are hoping this time someone will help us.