At the start of 2020, before Covid truly hit us here in NZ, Brazilian citizen and Jiu-jitsu Black Belt, Gledson Lopes Da Silva, travelled to New Zealand under a skill shortage work visa. His long-term plan remains to one day call New Zealand home and when he arrived, he fully committed himself to his work within construction. However, he went even further and applied himself to our community in such a way that he has broken down barriers that would normally keep us apart.

As a qualified blackbelt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, he helped to start ZR Team in Mount Wellington, in Auckland. Here he has successfully forged a family of people from every corner and aspect of our community. People who truthfully, probably would never normally cross paths.

Through all that we are going through, there is presently no greater value than being able to unite people during times like these.

After what happened in Christchurch, the need to stand unified has become so important and any person who works to achieve this, is a great asset to this country. Professor Gledson epitomise's everything we as ‘kiwi’s’ stand for. Unity, inclusion, love and respect.

He has also managed to do what no other practitioner of this sport has achieved in its history within New Zealand. He brought together all the various Jiu-jitsu schools, creating opportunity to learn and share in a way that will grow this sport exponentially throughout New Zealand, and as a nation of sports lovers, jiu-jitsu is fast becoming very popular here as it already is globally. 

From my own point of view, the state of mental welfare in New Zealand is at a crisis point and any person who works selflessly to help others overcome these obstacles is worthy of more than just our thanks - they are worth our support.  I know from my own experience that without jiu-jitsu in my life, I would be far worse off than I am today.

Though despite all my Professor is doing for everyone around him, he remains separated from his wife and baby in Brazil. He has not seen them, held them, or hugged them in almost two years. Imagine standing in his shoes. Imagine watching your baby grow without you there to guide and help them. 

We all understand what Covid means, and we all have made sacrifices, but with vaccines now starting to be made available, surely, we must allow - if ANYONE - the families of those who have done so much for us, to be allowed to be reunited.

He has given himself till the end of the year and if the borders remain shut to his family, he will go back to Brazil. As the person who is starting this petition, this breaks my heart because I know everything, he has worked so hard to build up here in New Zealand will be for nothing.

His family, like so many others are not refugees. There is no political reason why they should or should not be allowed in. They are hardworking, kind people. They are everything we want from those who would call NZ home.

Please help me by signing and sharing this petition, to help Professor Gledson Lopes Da Silva,  bring his wife Marcela and baby, Theo, to NZ. Please help me to help those who are doing so much for us and deserve so much more from New Zealand as a country.