Covid Returnees Pay It Forward

[Photo credit: Our neighbour in the U.S., who snapped this photo of our eldest kids (5 and 7), peeking through her mail slot to see if her son wanted to mask up for a bike ride - one of the few activities they could safely do during five months of home self-isolation during school closures.]

The government-managed isolation and quarantine policy is a key pillar in maintaining Aotearoa as a world leader in the response to Covid-19. We are grateful to the border, isolation, and quarantine workers who not only carried out this policy, but made us feel welcome rather than a burden.

We recognize that the NZ public funded the policy that enabled us to return. We have created this page so that returnees, like our family, can make voluntary contributions – reinvesting some of the costs of their quarantine to support New Zealand society.

Funds will be split equally between three NZ charities:

WOMEN'S REFUGE - in recognition of the increased risks of domestic violence during lockdown;

FOREST & BIRD - in recognition of the connection between environmental and public health;

KIDSCAN - in recognition of the disproportionate burden that the economic fallout from Covid-19 has placed on families that were already the most vulnerable.

An estimated 21,000 returnees went through government-managed isolation and quarantine between April and June 2020. If even half of those returnees could contribute $200 each, we would provide an infusion of over $2M of charitable giving in the coming month.

There are, of course, plenty of worthy Kiwi charities out there, and this campaign is not designed to supplant giving to others. We hope to inspire all who have benefited from the managed isolation and quarantine program to reflect on the many ways we might pay forward our gratitude.