For the Caritas Challenge, Challenge 2000 set up a Cambodian house. We left the house set up for the following week for people to come through and have a look. We had all of the students from St Brigid’s come along and have a look through the house. Nick Borthwick from Caritas came back in to talk to the students as well. The students really enjoyed what they saw and took lots away from the talk and also seeing the house as well.
We received some lovely cards from some of the students. Some of the feedback we got from the students was.
‘It looked like a real Cambodian house, thank you for setting up the house’
‘My favourite parts of the house were the spices and the smells that were there.’
I CAN, WE CAN Project is a project that is organised through Athletes Village in Tawa. Athletes Village has an area for non perishable food items that are donated brom staff and/or member of their gym.
This month Ace Tiatia (who runs the gym) is giving the donations from the gym to Challenge 2000! This is a photo of myself and the Porirua College nurse (who is a member at the gym) collecting the boxes of donated goods!
A huge thank you to Athletes Village – you have made a difference!!
For the past 20 years Challenge 2000 has encouraged our young people to reflect on ANZAC day, what it meant in 1915 and what it means today.
Our focus is on Service, Sacrifice, Peace and Justice and how these are significant values of our country – now and then.
Much time is spent on learning about WWI and WWII in particular and how these wars shaped the psyche and soul of Aotearoa New Zealand. Then a play is workshopped, practiced and delivered in centres and churches. What happens is incredible. The “actors” actually absorb the identity of those young men and women who served overseas. Flanders Field becomes real to the “soldier” and the mum and children who stayed at home know the pain and fear of waiting. The nurse writing the letter for Reg on board the hospital ship leaving Gallipoli is moved to tears as Reg says how his younger brother was killed on the beach.
The haka by a soldier of the Maori Battalion at El Alamein honours his dead comrade and beings the spirit of his ancestors alive again.
Words can’t describe it really – but our young people grew as they discovered the history, feelings and courage, fear, pain and reality of War and its wide ranging effects.
Now we need to not just remember but to act so that all can have the quality and type of life that others were prepared to serve and die for.
Will you serve? Will you sacrifice? The challenge is there. Worth thinking about – worth acting on!
And the conversations weren’t all serious…………………
Conversation in a vehicle:
Sam, 7, who acts as a boy in 1945: “When I take Under Mike by the hand – shall I say come and see my poster of Aaron Cruden?”
Luke, staff member: “Ummm maybe don’t say Aaron Cruden cos he wasn’t alive in 1945”
Sam: “Shall I say Christian Cullen?”
Luke: “No I don’t think Christian is that old either! Maybe you just say rugby stuff?”
Sam: “Yeah maybe the All Blacks weren’t invented them!!!”
Challenge 2000 has recently formed an outdoor adventure group for young women. Our objective is to help young women to experience new things and to step out of their comfort zones.
The groups first expedition was a two day tramp along the Oronogorongo Track into the Rimutaka Forest Park. For some of the young women, even sleeping in a tent was a new experience. Simply in saying ‘Yes’ to this adventure took a lot of courage. The young women were tasked with preparing and cooking their own food on camp cookers, finding an appropriate place to rest, and navigating the journey.
On reflection, one participant said:
“I just want to say I learned a lot on those two days; like anything is possible if you put your mind to it. I think the most challenging part for me was the walk, it was a struggle but I got there in the end. The thing I enjoyed most was bonding with the leaders and with my old friends. This would have never happened if it wasn’t for Challenge 2000”
It was incredible to see the amount of physical, mental and emotional growth that can occur in the space of a weekend. In seeing the young people be challenged and inspired by all that nature has to offer, it was very motivating for Challenge 2000 staff to endeavour to provide more opportunities like this for our young people.
“If you keep doing what you’ve done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got” – Anthony Robbins
Young men from Colleges in the Porirua region participated in the various courses at Adrenaline Forest in Wellington as a reward for their progress in school. The course also aimed to encourage the young men to step out of their comfort zones and face the challenge as a team.
By the end of the day, the young men were exhausted from the physically demanding courses but were grinning from ear to ear about what they had achieved. For some, it was a fear of heights while for others, it was the struggle of working as a team. All in all, it was a great learning experience with a bit of fun added!!!
Rugby 101: Passing, Tackling and the Breakdown
“I don’t believe in magic. I believe in hard work” – Richie McCaw
Peeling it back to the very basics of passing, tackling and the breakdown, students attending the rugby clinic learnt the art of mastery. The small technicalities involved in making a good pass to the timing and positioning of a tackle were examined in the sessions.
The students enjoyed the sessions and have the ability to teach their respective teams or work on the drills themselves. As one student summed it up: “you don’t have to get paid like a professional to train like a professional”!
H2O Extreme and We are ANZAC’s
As the children arrived, they were all filled with excitement for the days ahead. The first day was spent at H20 Extreme in Upper Hutt. We enjoyed riding the lazy river, cruising down the slides, practicing our swimming and having lots of fun. As the day went on we saw the children grow in confidence ready to take on new challenges.
On the second day, the children came back with big smiles on their faces ready to experience an Anzac filled day. We started by reading stories, learning about our soldiers, teddies, dogs and nurses that had been to war. The children had a chance to try on different army gear. This was definitely a highlight for many of our boys. We then headed to the city for a tour to look at the sights, the kids were full of questions and even managed a game of nonstop tag before we headed back to the Challenge House.
Thank you to all the children, parents and people who provided baking and volunteers who helped out on these days. Your support is so appreciated and make these days possible.
Mana College held it’s annual athletics day at the Titahi Bay Athletics Club in Kura Park. Four members of our “Youth Workers in Secondary Schools” (YWiSS) team helped with the running of the day by supporting staff with events such as high jump, long jump, time keeping or being a year group marshal.
All in all, it was a great day with some healthy competition and in-house rivalry, which featured a staff relay that included some of our team. Fair to say there were some seriously competitive teachers on the track!!!
To our new brothers and sisters from Syria. We look forward to receiving the many gifts, strengths and life experiences you bring to us – together we will all be so much better off – an alive, inclusive, diverse, generous, welcoming city. Absolutely positively Wellington.
Over the past weeks, many Challenge 2000 staff, volunteers and young leaders have been collecting items to prepare for the arrival of new whanau in our city. Thanks to those who gave money, lifted and shifted, colour matched, purchased and enjoyed preparing homes.
On Friday night, 25 young people gathered along with Challenge 2000 staff and volunteers for our first sports night of the year.
The gym was full of energy as we played games, got to know each other and stepped out of our comfort zones!
All the young people had an awesome time with the opportunity to share in food at the end. We are looking forward to working with these young people throughout the year.
If you live in the Wairarapa and are between Year 7 and Year 13, our next sports night will take place on Friday 26th February 2016 from 5pm-7pm at Chanel College gym. Contact Nicole on 021 655 697 for more information.
Over the summer school holidays, Challenge 2000 hosted an array of holiday programmes for the young people around Wellington, Porirua and the Hutt Valley. No two days were the same! New experiences were had and activities included sport days, swimming days at different beaches around Wellington and the Hutt Valley, swimming pools and mountain biking through the Wainuiomata hills.
The young people thoroughly enjoyed their time at the different programmes, with excitement levels high all the time! A great favourite was the mountain biking – the young people commented on how challenging it was at times but were so proud and grinning from ear to ear at the finish. Swimming is always great fun – there was a “bombing” competition from the diving board had at a local pool. It was great to see the energy and interest in the young people for this.
Challenge 2000 realise that it is important to provide these programmes for the young people. These programmes provide fun, laughter, new experiences and form new lasting friendships!
We wish to thank all those who sponsor/donate/fund these holiday programmes. Your contribution is much appreciated!
Watch this space for more fun holiday programmes in 2016!!
The Whanganui Awa, and more specifically Hiruharama/Jerusalem, has long been a source of retreat and inspiration for the Challenge 2000 Youth Ministry team. In January, a team of 18 took four days to gather together to reflect on Youth Ministry and plan for the year ahead. 8 College students, 5 young adult volunteers and staff reflected on what it means to be a youth ministry team for 2016.
Hiruharama, with its rich history of Catholic ministry, was a great venue to pause at the beginning of the year and reconnect with our vision and purpose and get to know each other better. The team took the time to revisit why youth ministry matters, how each of us can contribute to making a difference and what we individually can contribute to the lives of those around us.
It was also an opportunity to reconnect with the whanau up the river holding an activity day for many of the young people who live in Hiruharama and the surrounding communities. It is always a special time playing games, sharing laughs and checking in with the hopes for the year ahead.
The College students took real leadership of the day and leant lots about running activity days. Many friendships were formed and it was difficult to leave!
Challenge 2000 is very lucky to have a longstanding connection with the families living in the area and also at the school in Ranana. Heath Hutton supported a school trip to the Gold Coast last year, so it was great to be able to reminisce about all the fun had on that trip.
Just as Suzanne Aubert did so many years ago, the Challenge 2000 team travelled back to Wellington with a sense of mission and purpose for 2016. Dreams were shared and plans hatched!
If you know of any young people who are in Year 12 or 13 who would be keen to be involved in youth ministry, please get in touch with Nicole Simson on 04 477 0045.
