Sonny Tau and his daughter Ann made no secret of their emotions when the dream of opening Kaikohe's long-awaited youth space became a reality.
Sonny Tau and his daughter Ann made no secret of their emotions when the dream of opening Kaikohe's long-awaited youth space became a reality.
Last week's official opening of Kaikohe's long-awaited 'youth space' was an emotional occasion for many.
Te Uma o Te Kona (The Breast of Kona) represents a collaboration of agencies and organisations to support local youth. The centre opened with the support of Te Runanga-A-Iwi o Ngapuhi, the Northland Social Wellbeing Governance Group Place-Based initiative, Kainga Ora, and the government's Regional Growth Programme, which all prioritise the welfare of Kaikohe's young people via funding for cultural, educational, social wellbeing and employment opportunities.
Te Uma o te Kona, Kaikohe manager Delwyn Rameka was officially welcomed to her role by Te Kotahitanga e Mahi Kaha Trust's Aroha Tahere.
Paul Knight, CEO of the Ngapuhi Asset Holding Company, said the Ngapuhi Mobil (Kaikohe) service station was pleased to make a significant financial contribution to the community-driven initiative, on behalf of Ngapuhi and its local retail operations.
"Investing in and supporting the Kaikohe youth centre shows how a community can work together and support positive pathways and opportunities for young people," he said. Kainga Ora chairman Harry Burkhardt also saw the opportunity for a community youth voice to play a lead role in establishing activities at the centre and developing opportunities for young people.
Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Kaikohe's kapa haka party making its contribution to the occasion.
"It's clear that the young people of Kaikohe want a safe, creative and fun space, where they can socialise in constructive ways. They have called for a youth centre like this for a long time, and it is pleasing that Kainga Ora is now in a position to make this kind of social investment in the Kaikohe community for them," he said.
Ben Dalton, the government's senior regional official for Northland, noted that the centre was more than just a place for young people to meet. It would also be where they could get help with education and training.
"The key to sustaining young people in work and training placements is ensuring the right support is in place for them and employers. Demand in the primary sector is for skilled labour and employees with specialist skills and the ability to work with digital technologies and automation on farms.
"We're working with local schools, young people and employers to make them aware of the wide range of diverse and skilled career opportunities in primary industries.
"If we want our young people to succeed the solution needs to be a combination of social, community and economic influences coming together, which is embodied in the new youth centre."
Ngapuhi Runanga chairman Sonny Tau said Hone Heke's mother, Te Kona, reflected the nurturing and caring objectives the new youth centre should aspire to.
"Supporting youth development is a high priority for Ngapuhi. We as a runanga see this initiative as a great opportunity to work collaboratively to achieve this outcome together," he said. "Kotahi te kakaho ka whati, ina kapuia, e kore e whati. A lone reed will waver and break. If combined with others it will never break. Alone we can be broken. Standing together, we are invincible."
The Kaikohe Community and Youth Trust Centre was launched on July 7, 2015, and in March 2016 employed a project manager to compile a business case to demonstrate need and sustainability, and to obtain funding.
The mission was to provide a safe, vibrant space that enhanced the community and helped young people evolve, but the project wasn't really going anywhere until an attack on the Caltex service station by a group of children hit the media earlier this year.
The trust posted on its Facebook page: ' ... with recent publicity around Kaikohe youth we have suddenly found ourselves with a bit of traction. There is some debate out there around whether a youth/community hub is needed. Here is our response to that.
'Kaikohe needs a new community/youth/rec centre, something that a few very passionate people have been driving for a long time. It's great news that agencies have finally seen the value in it.
'What does it offer? Peer support, access to positive role models, a safe environment for youth to be, an alternative to the streets, gang houses, and in many cases their own homes, where at certain times of the week they don't want to be.
'Teachers can't be parents, and teach and support, and offer social work to students. Teachers will burn out and will leave. Never has the saying that it takes a community to raise a child been more applicable than right now in Kaikohe.
'Let's face it. For many kids in Kaikohe, parents are struggling. Most often it's not because they don't care. Sometimes it's just because they don't know any different or any better. We can keep moaning about how useless parents are in Kaikohe and that these kids need a boot up the bum, or we can flip that and take on the role of raising them and showing them alternatives.
'The model that we are proposing to operate will see all of those agencies that are pouring millions into our community sit under one roof and talk about how to best apply the services to youth who walk through the door looking for an alternative to mischief on the street. We've done the research, we've written the case study, we've been approved to move it ahead. Why don't you all come on board?'
A BLANK CANVAS
Te Kotahitanga e Mahi Kaha Trust's Aroha Tahere last week described Kaikohe's youth space as a blank canvas, which the young people would help decide how to fill.
The space will open after school and over public holidays, with a manager and two mentors.
Young people aged 12-24 have already offered some ideas, including cooking, story-telling, literacy and numeracy lessons, pool (two tables have already been donated) and a film studio.
