'Humans' marvel hits Kaitaia

The Humans of Kaitaia team Medadane Kipa, Hinemoa Tipene, Naomi Austen-Reid, Kate Clarke, Serenity Taniwha and Kirsty Saxon. Absent: Erena Hodgkinson and Micah Tawhara.

The 'Humans of ...' phenomenon has launched in Kaitaia, after a dedicated and passionate team of volunteers answered the call of 'Humans of South Auckland' creator Jasmine Jenke.

The Mangere East resident began the South Auckland social media project in September 2014, while working as teacher at Papatoetoe High School, the sudden death of a student inspiring her to take action to build hope and pride in the community.

"I was really moved that life was so tough for many young people," she said.

"Then you combine that with the media, which has a huge influence on teenagers and people in general. Everything you read in the 'big' media about South Auckland is so depressing. I was a media studies teacher, so I decided to become the media."

The concept is based on Humans of New York ( HONY), a photoblog and book featuring street portraits and interviews collected on the city's streets, begun in 2010 by photographer Brandon Stanton.

Seven years later Jasmine Jenke has taken the project to Kaitaia, where a local group began developing it four months ago.

They are now ready to launch their Humans of Kaitaia FaceBook page, aimed at shining a light on the town's inspirational residents.

"We are passionate about nurturing, highlighting and celebrating the authentic stories of our people, and connecting our community," Erena Hodgkinson said.

The people who will be sharing their stories have been chosen via a community nomination process, then interviewed and photographed by the HOK team.

"We believe every Human of Kaitaia has a story, and we are so excited to provide a medium to share these stories with our community," said one of those photographers, Kirsty Saxon.

New stories will be uploaded to the Facebook page at 6pm every Wednesday. Nominations may also be lodged on the page.