Grant to fund outdoor facilities at Kokohuia

Uneven courts at Te Kura o Kokohuia are to be replaced, Marie Haira says. Photo/ Stuart Munro

Whanganui's Te Kura o Kokohuia has big plans to upgrade its outdoor play and sports areas and a grant of $50,000 gets it half way there.

The school's board decided it wanted the improvements. It has come up with an outdoor development plan costed at $108,000, funding manager Marie Haira said.

Its basketball and netball courts are cracked and uneven, and children stub their toes. They are to be surfaced with an artificial turf.

The school also wants a playground for its youngest pupils, whose numbers are growing. An upgrade of the existing playground for older children would also be good.

Ms Haira applied to the New Zealand Community Trust for $80,000. The school has just been granted $50,380, toward new shade sails and surfacing the courts.

Te Kura o Kokohuia, in Matipo St, has 90 children. It is decile 1, and most of the children are Māori. The Castlecliff area is reinventing itself and the school's catchment is "a neglected area", Ms Haira said.

The facilities will make sport more attractive and improve health in the suburb.

"Our kids deserve the best. And people from the area will be able to come and play basketball outside of school time."

The school has already sold chocolate and had a kai evening to raise nearly $9000, and the board will contribute $10,000. Other businesses or sponsors will be welcomed.

Ms Haira has also made an application to another gaming trust, which could fund the rest of the project.

The New Zealand Community Trust gets money from gambling machines in six Whanganui venues: Caroline's Boatshed, Castlecliff Hotel, Shotz, Tandoori Spice Bar, Stellar Bar and the Red Lion Inn.