Kidshub: Looking after our tamariki, whānau and community the CLD way.

Over the last two years the Christchurch Methodist Mission (CMM) Community Development team have worked alongside a group of whānau who are passionate about providing experiences and opportunities for their community. Together they have created the ‘Kidshub’ initiative in Linwood, Christchurch.

The Kidshub committee is now made up of 5 whānau leads and  committed to providing low cost or no cost activities for whānau in the Linwood area. Building on the seed of an idea sown at a parents’ hui about five years ago, they have been busy organising community meetings and community events for their whānau, tamariki and the wider community. 

With support from a CMM Development worker, a family worker from the Linwood Community Corner Trust, a Christchurch City Council advisor and Kim from the STEAM collective, the committee has organised a range of activities for the community during the school holidays. These activities all promote brain development and team building: they include art and craft, high tech days, maths exercises (using dragon cards in order to complete mathematical tasks in a fun way), engineering exercises, as well as bus trips to Victoria Park, Willow Bank and Spencer Park. Moreover, the committee also organised several community events throughout the year such as a kids market, Quiz night, neighbourhood BBQ, pizza nights and a light dance. 

Fun for everyone at the Kidshub Activity Day 2019.

In February 2020, whānau and tamariki presented Kidshub to the Linwood Community Board, sharing their vision and goals: to give the tamariki the kind of experiences that they have been dreaming of, experiences that they wouldn’t normally have access to, and to enable whānau to share these experiences with their tamariki. The Kidshub committee envisions these experiences to come at little to no cost for whānau to ensure that tamariki have the highest possible likelihood of being able to participate. 

Kidshub is all about fostering community connections in a neutral environment. A place to nurture whānau connections and to create a sense of belonging and bonding, with shared interactions and new experiences in a safe space for whānau to enjoy time together.  

Key community-led learning from Kidshub: 

In talking with the committee whānau about why they enjoy the Kidshub, they speak about the relationships they been able to build with the people whom they have met, and about having grown in confidence. The hope is that this will filter through to their tamariki to grow more confident and eventually become leaders in their local community. Kidshub is nurturing this growth and providing opportunities for leaders to grow.  

Gardening is a great way to learn for the tamariki.

The success of the Kidshub initiative points to the role that the following key principles of community-led development play in community projects:  

The importance of place and a sense of belonging 

There is a long term commitment to the mahi because the whānau feel a strong sense of connection to, and ownership of the places and spaces occupied. Working in collaboration with the neighbourhood and making sure everyone felt safe and respected, the committee cleaned up the section, removed rubbish, and turned it into a space that was safe and safe for everyone to enjoy.  

Belonging, community and play are represented in the Kidshub logo.

Taking the time to listen and understand local voices 

The committee dedicated a lot of time to building trusting relationships with the whanau in their community, and involved them in every step of the process, starting from scratch and finding resources needed to create a space where everyone felt heard, understood and had their needs met. It is from the shared experience and active listening and engagement that trust, respect and relationships can grow.  

Local leadership and learning by doing 

The driving power behind Kidshub was the leadership of the four key women and their wishes for their children. Putting these ideas into action and reaching out for support where they needed it enabled them to build relationships with people in the wider community, even with those whom they never imagined they would be able to connect with. They were able to build trust through making the commitment to show up, listen and act on what they promised. Growing and learning along the way, there is not set-in-stone agenda, the whānau are shaping next steps as they go along – together with their community. 

For more information on the Kidshub initiative, please email Anne Gibling, Christchurch Methodist Mission.

My Inspiring Community- South Alive

South Alive is a South Invercargill urban rejuvenation group, that is led by the community for the community. Their goal is to create a community that is proud of where they live and work. Here is their story-My Inspiring Community-South Alive 

Using ‘It’s not OK’ at Rugby League

By He Tauaa Rugby League Club Acting President Fipe Fa’amoe.
The situation

He Tauaa Rugby League club in Southland has been around since 1983. “He Tauaa” to the old Maori people, means, ‘A well drilled and organised war party of men, who would raid other tribes to show their strength and bring back the spoils.’
We are doing well on the field – most recently and what may be our greatest achievement – is winning the Southland Championship back to back four years running.
Being well drilled and organised, can only come from hard training, connectedness between all members and providing an environment that encourages positive behaviour.
We wanted to address a number of incidents that were taking place during the games. Back chatting to the referees, abusive comments from the side line towards players and bad attitudes. Often not from our team but none the less change was needed.

So when the opportunity to be part of the New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) “It’s more than a Game” initiative, which promotes healthy living, positive behaviour and building stronger individuals, families and communities – we jumped at the chance.

What’s happening
We became the Southland Champion Club for the ‘It’s Not Ok’ initiative for 2016. An informative day with stall holders and guest speakers providing vital information.

Banners and flags supporting the campaign have flown freely at the games. Two club members volunteered to be our Club Champions, when there was inappropriate side-line behaviour they approached the players and supporters concerned and asked them to calm down and be more positive. The odd negative comment is quickly stamped on. The coaching team play a big role as they continually drive into the players that they need to display a good attitude and positive behaviour. This occurs at training, before and during their games. If there are any issues that require intervention, these are discussed and dealt with by our Committee.

One of our Club Champions Chris Perriam has been involved in rugby league for 29 years – 23 of them with He Tauaa. He says it’s been an honour and a privilege to represent the club as one of the Champions.
“This has been the only campaign that the Southland Rugby League community has been able to get behind that effects nearly all of us.

Growing up, family violence was a common occurrence in our house so to be a club champion was something close to the heart. I put my hand up because I know we all have our struggles in life, but there are people who can help; people who you can talk too if it is easier than talking to those closest to you. This campaign was more about letting the community know we care and to let them know that help is as close as they might think.”

The change we’ve noticed
The back chatting from our team on the field this season has notably reduced in our club and side line behaviour has improved. This has been noticed by our supporters and members from other clubs. Support for this initiative has been amazing. Our players, their families, friends, Southern Zone Rugby League, our sponsors and members of the Family Violence team all attended the launch.

What enabled change?
One of the club champions Leona Notoa says that small things like flags, posters and tee shirts have been a constant reminder to people. Being part of the campaign meant people felt more confident to yell out and stop anything that was negative or unnecessary – referring to the slogan, “It’s not OK. Although there is still the constant banter between teams and spectators the reminder was looming and it sparked conversations.

What we’ve learned
The strength of our club is that we are whanau orientated and supportive of each other. We understand that each of us have a role to play to ensure that we are successful on and off the field. If we can continue with a positive attitude, this filters to our members and their families.

What’s next
We have certainly got off to a good start as the club won the 2016 NZRL Grassroots club of the year award for our work with the It’s Not OK campaign – we are all stoked!
We have connected with a local musician who has agreed to create a song and music specific to He Tauaa. We are hoping that the song will be ready early next year when we hold our next big event for the it not ok campaign.

Chris has produced a video:

My Inspiring Community – Randwick Park

 
They began asking locals what would improve their place … a few years later Randwick Park has won 2017 community of the year.  Maree Beaven recently talked to us about what they’ve achieved so far and how.

Randwick Park has also very kindly shared their story to be apart of our 2017 election manifesto please feel free to read it, and share it.

Selwyn Steps up .. and out

By Michael Wilson, Executive Officer, Selwyn Sports Trust

The Situation
In 2011 we often found asking ourselves, why? Why is Selwyn not readily recognised as a District? Why are the vast range of physical activity opportunities in Selwyn not better known? Why are Selwyn residents not catered for with ‘their own’ events? Why, why, why…

Who is involved
The ‘we’ was a group of Selwyn residents and sports enthusiasts. We had a range of experiences, involvements and ideals when it came to sport and physical activity. The thing that bound us was the positive place we held sport and physical activity and the positive influence it had on us all. We wanted to share this with the whole Selwyn District. Selwyn Sports Trust was born from this.

Well, honestly, Ellesmere Road Runners and the Selwyn Running Festival were born. Both were based out of Leeston and the community took to them. A weekly, community minded running and walking group coupled with an event that was the goal for all that regular exercise.

What we have done and how
Selwyn Sports Trust was established as we figured the support and enthusiasm shown by the Ellesmere community could be replicated Selwyn wide. The aim being to promote and support participation in sport and recreation within our District.

From humble beginnings, we have remained largely events based. Adding to our weekly running and walking groups and we’ve connected with the Malvern and Lincoln communities so we are engaging with more than 450 individuals annually.

We’ve built strong relationships with other invested groups and organisations to enhance the Shoe Clinic Selwyn Running Festival. We also incorporate the Athletics Canterbury Half Marathon Championship in the Lay Associates Half Marathon, giving locals a chance to see Canterbury’s finest runners and even compete alongside them. And we’ve engaged with local businesses (McMillan Drilling Group, Oakleys Premium Fresh Vegetables and G & M Contracting) who provide more than just financial support – guidance and involvement within the Festival too.

We have added two other annual events to fill gaps we identified. The Frontrunner Lake Crichton Series was a no brainer addition. Not only does this showcase the fantastic, yet largely unknown, facility – Lake Crichton, it provides first time triathletes with one of the safest ways to give the sport a go.

The Koru Games give South Island year 7 & 8 students an opportunity to develop their individual sporting skills while playing teams sports for their schools. There were 2000 competitors in 2016. With the support of Sport Canterbury, we will be unleashing our Physical Activity Activators on 23 Selwyn Schools from 2017.

The change we have noticed
More active communities being active together. A wider range of friendships, interactions while exercising, racing and socialising. The invisible silos within our communities have been broken down to a certain extent through people being active together, be these generational, social, gender and so on.

We hear from many of our participants that their perception of what racing is and who it is for has changed from being something for the elite and very capable and committed to something for all. We also hear that highlighting and utilising local resources and facilities is a fantastic way to show off and bring pride to the District and its residents. It’s also a great way to open the eyes of locals to what they have on their own doorstep.

What we’ve learned
It has required a huge commitment from a large number of selfless individuals and organisations to begin the journey. We are very conscious of all the support and guidance we have received so far, from the individuals standing on corners during races, to those that fill out reviews to ensure we continue to cater to their needs, to the financial contributors.

We believe the initiatives and events that are the most successful are those that directly engage with their competitors and participants. Those that have clear and understood goals, vision and direction that is malleable are most successful.

We also believe that the word success has to be clearly understood. We are most definitely clear that success is not having the most participants, the largest events or making large amounts of money. It is our goal to enrich people’s lives and community well being through sport and recreation and this is how we measure success.

More info: selwynsportstrust.org.nz/

Pipiwharauroa: Hikoi for Healthy Nature

A CLD Case Study by Erena Hodgkinson , Kaiwhakapa-Storyteller, Healthy Families Far North

What’s been happening
Far North iwi have heard the karanga of the pipiwharauroa and joined together in an initiative that promotes physical, emotional and community health through collaboration. In September this year, I was delighted to bear witness as Te Rarawa and Ngai Takoto joined forces for the first time with Healthy Families Far North and the Department of Conservation to lead out the Pipiwharauroa: Hikoi for Healthy Nature, Healthy People walk at the idyllic Lake Ngatu.
The pipiwharauroa, or shining cuckoo, is the bird that traditionally signals the start of spring and the 4km loop track provided the backdrop to celebrate both the change of season and the return of the lake to Ngai Takoto last year.

Who was involved
While the hikoi attracted community providers, it was more so the 100-plus kaumatua and kuia and local school-aged children engaging with the environment that provided the benchmark for success.
“The kaupapa is just beautiful. We had people discussing rongoa Maori along the track, we had children picking up rubbish as they walked. We had a crew dive for kuta, we heard kuia break into song. It was truly a community celebrating being a community,” says Healthy Families Far North manager Shirleyanne Brown.

The change we are noticing and what’s enabled it
One of the huge changes to come out of Pipiwharauroa was post-settlement, inter-iwi collective impact on a positive kaupapa wrapped around hauora Maori. The hikoi set the foundations for relationships to continue to grow in strength and proved that the silo mentality can be broken where there is the will.

What we have learned
In retrospect, I see the walk as the beginnings to iwi-led development that brings together the community through an expression of kaitiakitanga for our environment, manaakitanga of each those we hold most dear – our young and our old – and aroha for both.

What happens now
Ngai Takoto have taken on host responsibility to make the hikoi an annual event and we have been approached by Ngati Kuri in the furthermost reaches of the Far North to replicate a similar initiative with the community in the North Cape area. The invitation to work with another iwi that is passionate about sharing and championing their assets is exciting and the epitome of people taking on the opportunity to connect in the most poignant way.

More info on the Healthy Families Initiative: http://www.healthyfamilies.govt.nz/