At Risk Youth In A Safe Place With Atua Summit School Holiday Programe
UPDATE. Police have reported this is the third consecutive time there has been no offending by this group of rangatahi during the two week period they were immersed in the Atua Summit Programme.
“It’s challenging. We’ve been mums, dads, aunties and uncle’s, cleaners, cooks, counsellors and friends, but it’s all worth it”.
Te Whānau o Waipareira Frontline Operations Team Lead, Donna Graham is sitting in the Trust where the Atua Summit School Holiday programme has been active for two weeks.
Back in the day one of the founding kaumātua of Waipareira, Jack Wihongi, used to pick up similar kids from the streets and bring them back to this exact spot where they would feel connected and safe, history Donna is familiar with.
“I know all about that. I used to walk through this Trust a lot when I was a kid. It’s ironic really”.
Donna and her crew of Waipareira kaimahi host 40 rangatahi in the school holiday programme held either at Hoani Waititi Marae or the Waipareira Trust building on Edmonton Road.
“Majority are boys and we have a few girls. Over these past two weeks they have done Waka Ama, surfing at the beach, visited Snow Planet and they cooked a wide range of kai together which we all shared. They all got fresh haircuts and we brought new clothes for them to wear for our last meal together at a local restaurant”.
This group of rangatahi aged 10 to 17 are youth offenders, including ram raiders, who were getting passed from agency to agency and they are at risk of being uplifted from their whānau. Donna and her team embrace them in Te Kauhau Ora.
“We tell them all the time and throughout the year that we love them unconditionally. We are going to growl them; we are going to tell them what to do but we are always here for them. The fact is, they keep waking up to get in the van at 7:30 in the morning when it collects them from home, they stay once they arrive and they keep coming back. That says it all”.
Donna keeps the essentials on hand in the Trust bathrooms, from hair ties to hygiene products, for the rangatahi to use and even takes some of their clothes to wash at her home.
“We also do numeracy and literacy every day with them because we identified that as a need. It wasn’t part of the initiative however it is a natural element of our strategy. We hug them, we tell them they are beautiful, tell them they are loved and respected. They tell us they feel safe”.
Frontline kaimahi will continue to engage with each rangatahi long after the holidays end to maintain their relationships of trust.
For the past 40 years, Waipareira have provided free services and support for whānau of all ages in West Auckland – health, legal, housing and education.
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