What do you get when you combine dance drills, basketball, rap, kapa haka, poetry, bob-sled-ready, chicken sandwiches, Anzac biscuits, the Walter Nash Centre and so much more? The I Choose Me holiday programme for April 2018!

Morning sports session

Challenge 2000, Taiohi Morehu and Hutt City Council collaborated once again in the April school holidays to run “I Choose Me”- this time out of the mighty Walter Nash Centre in Taita.  We combined our creative arts programme with sports for the very first time and the atmosphere was energetic!  It was the third time we have run this programme but the first in Taita – the spacious sports facilities allowed us run a strong sports element within the programme.  Future NBA stars, Silver Ferns and All Whites were among us as many of our students showcased their sporting talents during the morning sessions.  Soaking up the knowledge of our guest speakers in the afternoon, we witnessed budding junior versions of Eminem, Parris Goebel and Idina Menzel grace the stage during our workshops.  As a group, we were challenged physically and creatively through dance, music, rap, kapa haka and poetry over a four day period.

Performance to the group

We had sixteen amazing and diverse rangatahi from the Lower Hutt and wider Wellington region participate in the programme.  Each day was centered on a different theme to “Be Brave”, “Be Confident”, “Be Creative” and “Be You” where all rangatahi were encouraged to use the theme in their actions for the day and to always give things a go.  Combining our creative arts programme with a sports element was the Taita “flavour” that enhanced I Choose Me this time around.  It was best summed up by one of the rangatahi whose feedback was, “I met new people who are now good friends and enjoyed the whole thing. Can I come to the next one?”

Reported by Faafetai Avei.