Four Days to Go, Bane! Tiyende Pamodzi Is Calling!
23–26 October 2026 | Hunua, Auckland
Bane, the countdown is getting serious! 🔥
n just four days, we’re bringing a little more Zambia to Aotearoa. The greetings that turn into long conversations. The laughter you can hear across the room. The music that gets you out of your chair—even when you said you were “just watching.”
Tiyende Pamodzi 2026 is nearly here, and the programme is giving us every reason to get excited!
Find your chitenge, pack your comfortable shoes and practise that dance move. We have a whole weekend of community, culture and friendly competition ahead.
Friday: mwaiseni—come and feel at home!
From 4pm on Friday 23 October, we’ll welcome you, get you registered and help you settle into your rooms.
Then it’s dinner, team introductions, icebreakers and Kahoot. Come ready to laugh, meet someone new and discover who takes a “friendly quiz” very seriously!
Coming for the first time? There’s a place for you here. Coming back? You already know how good it feels to be together again.
Saturday: our community, our culture—and our time to shine
We begin with a chance to help shape our community’s future at the 9.30am AGM, while children’s activities run alongside.
At 11.30am, the official opening ceremony brings us together with the hosting team, a Māori representative and the ZIAA chair. The national anthem, opening dance and speeches will set the scene for a day of pride and celebration.
And at 2pm: the lunch banquet! Good company, shared tables and conversations that deserve more than a quick WhatsApp message.
There’s a falls walk later in the afternoon, so bring those walking shoes. But keep your evening outfit ready…
At 8pm, it’s fashion-show time! Whether your style is bold chitenge, elegant simplicity or something entirely your own, bring your confidence.
Then, at 8.30pm: PARTE AFTER PARTE! 💃🏾🕺🏾
You can say you don’t dance. We’ll see what happens when the music starts.
Sunday: team spirit, big laughs and a little healthy rivalry
Sunday is when we find out who has been quietly training for the tug-of-war!
The programme includes potato-and-spoon races, sack races, relays, a scavenger hunt and Zambian outdoor games—including Kambushi Kalilalila.
Expect cheering. Expect laughter. Expect someone to insist, “One more round!”
Between the action, we’ll make space for our young people at the 4.30pm youth panel. Their ideas and experiences belong at the heart of our community too.
At 6pm, we gather for the group photo. Let’s get everyone in—these are the pictures we’ll be smiling at for years.
Then comes our farewell evening: dress-making, a talent show, Kahoot, dancing and campfire storytelling. A chance to share a talent, tell a story and enjoy those final hours together.
Monday: one more breakfast, a few more stories
We’ll share breakfast, pitch in with the tidy-up and head home by 11am.
But first, there will almost certainly be another conversation, another photo and another “travel safely—we must do this again!”
Bane, make sure you’re coming!
If you haven’t registered, please register now. It helps our organising team plan the meals, rooms and activities that make the weekend work.
Bring the family. Bring your team spirit. Bring your best outfit—and leave a little room in your bag for the memories.
From “remember when?” to “you had to be there!”—let’s make this a weekend worth talking about.
Four days to go. Zambia in our hearts. Aotearoa our home.
Tiyende Pamodzi—let’s go together!
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