“They ask me where I’ve been
And what I’ve done and seen.
But what can I reply
Who knows it wasn’t I,
But someone just like me,
Who went across the sea
And with my head and these hands
Killed men in foreign lands ……..
Though I must bear the blame
Because he bore my name.”
Poem by Wilfrid Gibson
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.
Pushing Boundaries at Adrenaline Forest
“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”!
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.
Caritas (Catholic Agency for Justice, Peace and Development) promotes the Caritas Challenge. The purpose of the Caritas Challenge is to fundraise, educate and raise awareness for people and places that they work with. This year the focus is Cambodia and Challenge 2000 kick started the Wellington area campaign over the weekend of 1st-2nd April 2016 in Johnsonville. Schools were invited, and they responded with enthusiasm and passion.
We organised to sleep in boxes overnight, workshops, activities and games, presentations, set up a room to look like a Cambodian home, reflections and prayer. We had guest speakers – Nick from Caritas, Kitty McKinley and Geoff Rahari – as well as visits from Cardinal John, Peter Dunne, Deputy Mayor Justin Lester, local Dominican Sisters, parents, a youth worker from BGI, Emily from Young Church Ministries, teachers and supporters. Thank you to everyone who came together to support the cause – the overnight security team, the cooking team and the background missions team.
Thank you to the Colleges who took part – St Bernard’s College, St Patrick’s College Wellington, St Catherine’s College, St Mary’s College, St Patrick’s College, Silverstream – your students’ input was valuable and we enjoyed being with them.
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On Sunday 28th February, Challenge 2000 celebrated an early Children’s Day. Children of all ages were entertained with a bouncy castle, face painting, bead/jewellery making, a tug-of-war, sack races, paper plane making and shared food, drink and fruit. Smiles were ear to ear and laughter was heard all around. One of the best things of the whole day was the presence of twenty five volunteer youth leaders who organised all the activities and made sure that the young ones had a great time. A great day for children and their families!!
“The soul is healed by being with children.” Dostoyevsky
“Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see” – J F Kennedy
Kia mau i a ratou te ihi
They hold the delight of life
Kia mau i a ratou te wehi
They hold the awe of life
Kia mau i a ratou te wana
They hold the love of life
The greatest thing we can do is love them and spend time with them.
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!!!
Three Challenge 2000 Youth Workers provided a leadership programme for Year 13 students. Together the young leaders explored the principles, challenges and rewards of leadership and set goals for themselves and the College for 2016. Everyone enjoyed the day – St Oran’s is all go for 2016.
Feedback from the students included:
“I enjoyed the communication games and the meditation because it resonated with me the most and reminded me of key leadership skills! I realised the true importance of my role as a leader in both the school community and the wider community.”
“Being able to learn what it means to be a leader and how to go about being a leader”
“I enjoyed the casual atmosphere that was created, it made it easier to listen and to take the information in.”
Welcome to Wellington,
Nau mai, haere mai
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.
Exciting times are happening in the Wairarapa!!!
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!!
