Uplifting stories showcasing success, inspiration and possibilities. Video / NZME
NZME has launched On The Up – a national campaign showcasing amazing stories of inspiration, success, courage and possibilities. AKaikohe resident shares with Northern Advocate journalist Yolisa Tswanya how she inspires local students.
Eighty-seven-year-old Rachel Velden has filled two binders of written pleas to government departments, MPs, police and education officials asking them to help Kaikohe’s children.
Most of her letters went unanswered, but that did not deter her. It spurred her to step up and do something herself.
Now, she volunteers at Kaikohe West School, helping children who have slipped through the cracks read, count and believe in themselves again.
“I went to help because I cared and I had spare time,” Velden said.
“I’m trying to help a lot of lovely children for no pay, who do not get a fair go, usually due to circumstances beyond their control.”
For almost 10 years Rachel Velden filled two notebooks with letters and appeals to MPs, ministries and police, calling for help for her “troubled town” of Kaikohe. Photo / Yolisa Tswanya
Velden said seeing the students struggle broke her heart, but she had seen a lot of improvement.
“My hair falls out from stress. My nails break, and don’t even get me started on sleep.”
Velden started writing her letters in 2018, when she noticed truancy was a big issue in the town.
“I have seen it for years in the town, but never realised how bad it was until I got into the school.”
Velden said in one letter: “There was an important job to be done and everybody was asked. Everybody was sure that somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but nobody did it. Somebody was angry about that because it was everybody’s job. Everybody thought anybody could do it, but nobody realised that everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that everybody blamed somebody when actually, nobody asked anybody.”
Velden said the socio-economic issues in Kaikohe were among the reasons young children were impacted, but believed that was not fair because they were the future.
“Because of drug and alcohol abuse, a lot of them were damaged before they were even born.
“A lot of the children have adults, but not parents. They don’t get help at home,” she said.
Rachel Velden, affectionately known as Nanny Rachel by students at Kaikohe West School, is much appreciated at the school where she volunteers her time helping improve reading. Photo / Yolisa Tswanya
A mother of six and grandmother of 11, she said her interest in children’s wellbeing had always extended beyond her own.
She said reading was an important skill that extended to many other parts of life.
“If you can read and understand what you are reading, things like maths will become a lot easier.”
Velden said she would not stop until she saw her mission to the end.
“I pray that I live long enough to see it … that is what keeps me going, their determination to do better.
“They are trying, but most of them still have a long way to go,” she said.
“You need to gain their trust and they need to be reassured that they can do this. I am so pleased for them and I will always tell them how proud of them.”
Rachel Velden is a familiar face at Kaikohe West School where she helps students better their reading and maths skills. Photo / Yolisa Tswanya
Her daughter, Isobel Maddox, said her mother was truly passionate about children and reading, and she was a special person.
“To me, Mum is one in a million and I have not found another person so driven and knowledgeable and passionate about the children that she has worked with over the years.
“My only wish is that the police acknowledge and make a difference for our town as mum wants it.”
