Christmas Greetings

Christmas

THANK YOU to all the people, whanau, groups, families and businesses that have supported our work with and for young people, families and communities in 2012. May

We also thank all our fantastic young people who have worked so hard to become who they are capable of becoming.

 

 

 

 

“We must not seek the child Jesus in the pretty figures of our Christmas cribs. We must seek him among the undernourished children who have gone to bed at night with nothing to eat”

~ Archbishop Oscar Romero

 

December

We wish everyone a very safe and happy Christmas Holiday!!

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 Hopefully you find time to stop and smell the roses.

WANTED: CHRISTMAS BENEFACTORS

Please help us to provide some summer employment for keen young people

We have young people who are keen to work…we have community jobs for them to do under the guidance of our missions man Felise.

Service workWe need a generous benefactor or seven to make some small donations so we can pay them to work. What a great Christmas present that would be!! Young people working for a month – having a purpose – earning some money – benefiting the community.

We would be really grateful if you could possibly make a donation towards these workers wages.

Alternatively, if you need something done around your house, or garden you could employ this able bodied, highly talented team and they’ll be there to help you!

 

Our bank account details are: Challenge 2000, 01-0519-0057660-00

Or else….please contact Felise on 04 477 0338, or 021 920 046 or Paula on 04 477 6827

Please help us at Christmas Time!

2012 has been a hard year for lots of people – some more than others. There are many families and individuals struggling and the pressures, expectations and glitter of the festive season often makes it worse.  Some of us are fortunate to have enough and to be able to reflect, relax and enjoy presents and the presence of friends and family.  Many can’t and don’t.

Currently we have around 40 families who need additional support – anything we can possibly offer them…they are:

  • young parents renting on low incomes
  • people who have been forced to the margins of society due to poverty and mental illness   Santas hands full
  • young people who put their trust in people who have let them down
  • single mums with a partner in jail
  • young parents with a car that needs fixing and petrol to get around
  • youth who are alienated form their families
  • Refugee families new to our country with very few contacts and resources

……the list goes on……

Please help us to help these families……we are here working with our people 24/7/52 weeks per year…please support our work…WE NEED YOU!!

If you could possibly spare a few food items (especially fresh food such as vegetables, fruit and meat), or would like to buy some Christmas presents for families, or could possibly donate money or vouchers we would be incredibly grateful. We can come and pick anything up in the Wellington Region.

Our bank account details are:  Challenge 2000 – 01-0519-0057660-00

I know that there are many people struggling this year, so please know that if it is not possible for you to make a donation, there is no pressure or expectation – we can always benefit from prayers and/or good wishes (whichever fits with you!).

Thank you for all your support in 2012 – your efforts either big or small are appreciated by the staff and people of Challenge 2000.

Best wishes for Christmas

Community Christmas Parade

On Saturday 1 December 2012, Challenge 2000 participated in the Johnsonville Lions Christmas Parade.  The theme we chose was “Beacons of Hope”.

In this Christmas Season we aspire to be beacons of hope to all with whom we come in contact with, be if for assistance of any kind, a listening ear, for help in a difficult situation etc.  Our dream is also that our society become more of a beacon of hope, than a wall blocking people out.  Staff, friends and families spent considerable time working on the float and their costumes, being gifts of peace, hope, joy …  and many hundreds of local Johnsonville families who lined the streets delighted in their handiwork.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saint Patrick’s College Retreat

Challenge 2000 ran retreats for the Year 10 students at Saint Patrick’s College in Kilbirnie from Wednesday 14th to Friday 16thof November. These focused on the theme of social justice and raising the students’ awareness of this topic. It also helped the students to realise their own abilities to make a difference within their school and in New Zealand in general.

The mornings were focused on introducing aspects of social justice and injustice to the boys. This included a long discussion on the need for equality in the world and incorporated the idea of poverty in New Zealand. To visualise this, Heath asked for ten volunteers to come up to the front of the group and showed them ten chocolates in a bag. The boys agreed that the fair thing to do would be to give each of them a chocolate. Heath then distributed the chocolates how the wealth of New Zealand would be in real life. This was met with shock when the last five boys had to fight over just one chocolate between them, while the first one had five to himself. It was great to see the chocolates then being shared around so that all had one. It made the boys think about the real life applications of the activity and the hardship that many face on a day-to-day basis.

After lunch, the students got to get up and be involved in some fun activities. These activities focused on their team building, leadership, and communication skills, followed by some discussion on how aspects of social justice in the real world were reflected by how the boys handled the challenges they were presented.

 

 

The days finished off with the groups coming back together for a calm and reflective liturgy before everyone dashed off to catch the school bus home.

It was great to see the effort and willingness of the boys to participate in everything that was put in front of them, as well as the support they showed each other throughout the three days.

Toia mai te waka nei, kumea mai te waka nei!

An exciting programme has commenced this term for our weekly Challenge 2000 sports group in partnership with Sam Te Kira from the Tuakana Mentoring program, Rangataua Mauri Ora.

Every Thursday Challenge 2000 youth workers take a group of rangatahi to Porirua Harbour to do ‘waka ama’.  A Polynesian wide canoe outrigger sport that is very popular in the Greater Wellington region.

The waka has been accessed with the support by Sam to enable the rangatahi that Challenge 2000 support to experience a sporting activity that will link them to ‘Tangaroa’.  It’s an opportunity for rangatahi to learn more about team work, technique, fitness, water safety and the competitive side of waka ama.

Jacob Wilkins-Hodges, a member of the Porirua Canoe Kayak Club, shared his knowledge in technique, how to hold a paddle, body positioning, safety, how to enter a waka, how to load a waka into the water and how important team work is in the waka in regards to timing. He also emphasised how enjoyable the sport can be, how to make the waka go fast – which I think is what the rangatahi enjoy the most.  The programme is mentored by Tina Wilkins who has experience in waka ama since 1993.

“Waka ama is a great sport for rangatahi to participate in and if they can compete at a national or even an international level.  There is loads of talent in our rangatahi, for some they have not experienced paddling on the water before, so getting into a waka can be very challenging, but the experience builds esteem, mana and knowledge.  I’ve seen rangatahi participate in this sport at all levels. It is positive, the transformation from land to water is fantastic and the experience forever lasting, I am thankful to Sam Te Kira for the use of a waka that costs around $10,000.00.  One day my dream is for Challenge 2000 to have their own waka and resources, but for now we are supported by Sam, Aniuwaru Waka Ama Roopu Inc and Porirua Canoe Kayak Club”.

Youth Mass

A big thank you to everyone who helped out  at the special Jville  Youth Mass to farewell Sr Josepha from  Ss Peter and Paul’s parish Johnsonville. People came from all over the Wellington region (and Whanganui!) to honour Sr Josepha who has served the parish and community whole heartedly for so many years. Her work within and beyond our parish is inspiring! Sr Josepha has always supported Challenge 2000 and has done so much behind the scenes that made all the difference. At the Mass it was commonly mentioned that her home was always open to whoever, whenever and that she was always willing to garden or bake!

Sister Josepha (far right) with family

It was Challenge’s privilege to be able to put on the farewell Mass. The singing, reading, drama, hospitality and haka came together to make an incredible tribute for an incredible woman. The occasion brought people from all over together to give generously back to Sr Josepha; whether that was through baking for morning tea, singing and playing music, acting or giving a helping hand where needed. It definitely proved that many hands make light work! A special thank you to Fr Peter and to all who made this so special. We had some wonderful feedback from those who enjoyed the occasion.

Fun Children’s Day!

On Sunday the 28th of October, Challenge hosted an afternoon of fun and games for the children of our friends and whanau. Two of our Youth Volunteer Leaders got the barbecue going in trying windy conditions as all the little ones squeezed into the front room to play a few games.

Playing Games in the Front Room at Challenge 2000

After karakia in Spanish, Maori and English we shared lunch together. Then the Games continued: the younger children kept on playing; pin the tail on the donkey, egg and spoon race, duck, duck goose, fruit salad and more. Duck, duck goose proved to be a timeless favourite no matter how old you are!

Although the weather was less than ideal everyone still made the most of it. It is so great to be able to put something on for the children and parents in our community. It was awesome to welcome our Colombian families from Porirua as well as our nearby Johnsonville families and friends.

It was a great whanau day…thanks to all who helped and made it such a success.

Sports Holiday Programme

On a beautiful sunny day in the second week of the school holidays a sports Holiday programme was offered for our energetic young people. The action packed day attracted a variety of young people from all over Wellington who came together to make the most of both the holidays and the fantastic weather.

The day began down at Johnsonville Community centre where we competed against each other in a series of fun games such as magazine hockey, bang, jockeys up and fruit salad – so that everyone could get to know each other and bond- with some friendly competition of course!

While everyone was enjoying the games and activities many hands were hard at work preparing a BBQ lunch back at Challenge. With the sun out and the feast prepared everyone used the time to relax, get some sun, eat, and enjoy the good company.

Refreshed and with full stomachs we filled the cars and the vans and made our way to ASB sporting arena for a game of ki-o-rahi. Ki-o-rahi is a traditional Maori game a mix between rugby, touch and handball.

This was for many a new experience but was quickly picked up as the stakes were raised and a small tournament was started. With the title on the line some great team work and skills were displayed by all of the teams.

With the final whistle blown for ki-o-rahi the action packed day came to a close and everyone headed home taking with them some great memories and new friends.