Express Yourself – Music Holiday Programme

Music brings life, much joy and laughter, we love it at Challenge 2000 so what better way to continue on with our holiday programmes than to make some seriously good noise with a day of musical adventuring!

With a range of experience from beginners to maestros, 22 young people and Challenge staff met at Newlands Community Centre loaded with enthusiasm ready to give it a go.
We formed the worlds most amazing ukelele band. Those who could play helped those who couldn’t, and we managed to play two entire songs that sounded both hilarious and awesome. For some, this has inspired a new love of the humble ukelele . ( No joke!)
The joy of making sound together continued with bucket drumming and rhythm games. Using skills of tuning in and listening together we made coherent noise! This was a fantastic experience, and it seemed we could easily be street performers with our loud pleasing sound.
In the afternoon, time was dedicated to performance.  We were inspired by the way people encouraged each other, worked together, practiced and supported each other.  For some this was this very first time to get up in front of others to play or sing and to see and hear the young people get up and perform was something truly special.  The talent was amazing.
Thank you so much to the young people and staff who got involved in the day. And a special thanks to Raroa Intermediate and St Catherine’s College for supplying extra ukeleles.  This day highlighted that music is powerful, and that creativity is in all of us, and when supported and believed in we can do things we never imagined!

Orongorongo Valley Tramping

The Challenge 2000 school holiday festivities have begun!

For the first adventure of the holidays, two Challenge 2000 staff members and eight young women cautiously agreed to brave the Rimutaka Forest Park on an overnight tramping expedition, which was for most, their first experience of this kind.

With of our basic survival needs on our backs, we set afoot on a three-hour journey ahead. We learned about our native surroundings. We ate Supple-Jack vine and Kawakawa leaves along the way (rest assured, this was as well as apples and muesli bars) and learned about basic survival skills for being out in the bush.

Our bags were heavy and the girls became tiresome, so arriving at Turere Lodge in the afternoon was an exciting affair. Propped up on the riverbank with a majestic view up the river valley, we were feeling rewarded after a hard slog. The girls settled in and we made the place home for the night.

The girls led the way through an interesting team building activity in the evening trying to thread each member of our crew through a spider’s web (see photos). This helped each member of the group realize the way they function as a part of a team and ultimately brought the group closer together.

At 8.00pm a Search and Rescue Helicopter landed practically in our own back yard (not for us… whew!) to rescue some Boy Scouts who had lost their way up the river. Thankfully, the boys were all safe and unharmed. This was an added bonus for our group who reveled in the excitement of it all once we were sure that everybody was okay.

We then shared a candlelit dinner and reflected on the excitement and struggles of the day before we tucked ourselves into our sleeping bags to rest up before the big walk out the next day.

Until the next adventure…

September School Holiday Programmes

These holidays Challenge 2000 has lots going on for our children and rangatahi!!!

Activities include a sports day at ASB, music day at Newlands Community Centre, Water fun day at Keith Spry pool, 2 overnight tramps for young women, little children’s day at Westpac Stadium, Swimming and sliding at H2O Xtream, Adrenaline Forest challenge and holiday programmes in the Wairarapa for two days!

AND

Day of service supporting the Elderly, Refugee house preparation and general missions

All our holiday programmes are designed to ensure:

Growth                                                          New Experiences

Fun              Group building

Development                                Cultural and other awareness

Confidence Building

Our staff and volunteers spend a lot of time making sure the days are awesome!

Interested: Book now: Ring Megan on 0276 844 444. Many are already booked out, but we do have a waitlist.

Also we need YOU to sponsor some children – for $30 per day YOU can help someone have a great holiday NOW!

Call Challenge 2000 on 04 477 6827 or direct credit 01-0519-0057660-00 ref: Holiday Fun

Thanks and Happy Holidays!!

September Conference in Brisbane

Ten Challenge 2000 young people travel to Brisbane for a Youth Ministry and Development Conference this week.

For the Gap Students involved, it completes their month long placement – quite an adventure!!

Here are the team leaving Wellington and visiting LOGOS, our sister organisation, in Auckland this morning before they head off.

Safe travels and learn lots!!

Young Leaders Retreat

10 young leaders attended a two day retreat at the Home of Compassion in Island Bay.
The participants learnt about Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey and how it is a model for the life of every human being. Participants reflected on the courage it takes to “leave home” and cross the threshold into the unknown. They explored what are the hinders and obstacles they meet on the way and how they can get through the challenges of the wilderness by accepting help from the helpers and having an internal compass that will keep them going. They learnt about courage, the abyss and how to achieve their bliss/mission in life.
Participants also learnt about their Myers Briggs profile and were given another model to understand themselves and others. This made a lot of sense to the young leaders, particularly some of the input on career options and how they learn and make decisions.
In between they did a lot of experiential learning activities, had fun on Mt Victoria and even managed a short “dip” in the sea at Island Bay!  All in all it was a great three days topped off by fantastic food! The training was done by Helen Robinson and Kitty McKinley.

Victoria University Open Day

A group of aspiring students from the Porirua colleges travelled into the city to attend the Victoria University Open day.

All of the faculty’s were on show and it was a great opportunity to to see the different courses on offer and to get a taste of University life in the Capital.

The group attended some sample lectures to hear more about different subjects from the lecturers themselves.  They found it quite interesting and were surprised by how different it was to their classrooms and the teaching at their schools.

As well as experiencing sitting through a lecture, there was a lot of entertainment throughout the day. The girls were pretty successful winning lollies by shooting three-pointers after three-pointers in basketball.

 

We all came home with smiles on on our faces and painted Maori tattoos thanks to Te Kawa a Māui – School of Māori Studies.

Street Day Appeal

Please support our work with young people and families.

“Give a little, so WE can give a lot.”

Your help is greatly appreciated!

You can:

  • Collect
  • Donate
  • Tell your friends and whanau
  • Press “Donate Now” on our front page

Contact Megan Ratuki on (04) 477 6827 or email challenge2000@xtra.co.nz if you can help us.

Thank you – EVERY LITTLE BIT COUNTS!

Hawkes Bay Retreats

Some of the team from Challenge 2000 went up to the Hawkes Bay to lead two retreats for young people 16 – 17 years old. The theme for the first retreat was “To Be The Change” and the theme for the second retreat was “Stepping Out In Faith”.

The first retreat focussed on how to make a positive change within their College and community, particularly as these young women will be the leaders in 2017. The day started with a great reflection and scintillating talk on how “one drop in water, joined by other like drops can be a sea of change”. Each tiny drop has the potential to make a great difference to the community. The young women acted out dramas about some great people who were that “one drop within the ocean” – Sir Edmund Hillary, Whina Cooper, Martin Luther King Jr and Mother Teresa. The day ended with a great reflection sheet.

The second retreat consisted of the young people stepping out in faith – what that entails and what it looks like.  People or heros that the young people looked up to were discussed, their qualities and motivation were considered and then each small group presented a drama about these heroes and heroines.  The dramas they did clearly displayed the massive effect their lives had on communities and throughout the world.  A mix of individual inner reflection, group discussion and presentations was really effective for the young people.

A lot of fun, joy, laughter and bonding took place within the days.  The Challenge 2000 staff really appreciated going back and reconnecting with the young people in the Hawkes Bay.  Great moments were shared by all.

Girls Leadership Camp

A group of College female students were selected to attend a Leadership Camp. The purpose of this camp was to provide a positive, fun and developmental experience for our young people.  Upon reflection, it was so much more than that.

Much to the surprise, delight and apprehension of the group, we arrived at Taupo Pack and Pedal to pick up our bikes to begin out mountain biking adventure. We had a slow start as the girls got comfortable with their new set of wheels. Even slower still as the rain set in and a cold southerly swept over the lake challenging us to give up. Three hours later, the entire team had mountain biked their way up a muddy bush track to Huka Falls. Almost everyone fell of their bike at least once along the way, alas, no injury to report and all involved were happily taking selfies to document their great achievement.

There was even more surprise and some delight, accompanied by sheer terror of what was to come when the girls learned that we were going rafting down the Tongariro River. A storm the previous day meant the normally Grade 3 river, had swollen to a Grade 4 and was filled with fallen trees that required some serious navigation. This required quick thinking and solid teamwork. We made it out alive, albeit one hour longer than the the journey usually takes. Regardless, the girls were left feeling empowered about our great feat.

The girls had carefully crafted a playlist at Challenge 2000’s community house before we embarked on our journey three days before. The whole way home, the team was singing along to the likes of Destiny’s Child, Mariah Carey and Drake to celebrate new experiences, new friendships and massive personal growth.
Until the next adventure…………

Celebration of Pa Dave Gledhill’s 50th Jubilee

Challenge 2000 staff and young people gathered together and travelled to Murupara, just out of Rotorua, to celebrate Father (Pa) Dave Gledhills 50th Jubilee as a Catholic Priest. Pa Dave has worked with Maori throughout the North Island and has helped bring many different worlds and cultures together.  He is a Challenge 2000 Kaumatua and has always supported our young people at Challenge 2000.

As Murupara is quite a distant from Wellington, the first night was spent at Kuratau.  The team spent quality time together in Kuratau, reconnecting with each other, understanding the importance of this trip and preparing for the next couple of days.

We travelled through to Taupo where we spent some time at Huka Falls and then continued onto Rotorua. We settled ourselves into our accommodation and went to check out the luge!!!  Great fun had by all!! Many conquered their fears – was great to hear the laughter and see the smiles.

The next morning we left for Murupara and participated in a powhiri to welcome us onto the Marae.  Celebrations then began with an Maori and English mass said by Pa Rawiri.  After the mass, we had a wonderful celebration on the marae with food, drink and speeches.  The speeches were memories and the work that Pa Dave has done for everyone throughout his time as a priest.

Overall, it was a great experience for the staff and young people from Challenge 2000.  Seeing new things, getting away from the city and being together in a whanau environment as a whanau.

Congratulations to Pa Dave Gledhill as he celebrates 50 years as a Catholic Priest and best wishes as he continues serving his community and others.