And just like that…. the 2022 school year is starting back up again!
Challenge 2000 has a number of youth and social workers based out at High Schools, there to help young people, whānau and the wider community.
We are currently based out at 6 colleges across Porirua and the Hutt. We have all been busy preparing for the year ahead, and we bet you have been too!
We wish everyone the best of luck for 2022.
In many places throughout the world St. Brigid’s Day is celebrated on February 1st . In our Johnsonville Community we have Saint Brigid’s school, begun by the Sisters of St Brigid in 1929 and the home of Challenge 2000 was the Sisters Convent, opened on August 1st 1937. Challenge lives in a very special place with strong, loving, courageous Irish roots.
St Brigid of Kildare was an amazing feminist woman who lived in Ireland in the fourth century and was known for empowering women and developing a spirituality for her time. Later her inspiration gave birth to an Irish Order of Sisters who are named after her.
This year on Tuesday February 1 some of our Challenge whānau celebrated St Brigid. It was an awesome evening and we were able to hear from others how Saint Brigid has been significant to them in their lives and how they have related to her.
Thanks to everyone that came!
NCEA results 2022 are out:
Still unsure about what your pathway might be this year?
A Uni student or young graduate wondering about how to get involved and change our world??
Then how about this opportunity??? Its a good option…
Contact Kitty 021491459 if you’d like more information or check out the Challenge 2000 website
On behalf of Challenge 2000 and all of the 160 families that gratefully received Christmas presents and hampers, we want to say a huge
THANK YOU!
to everyone for your donations.
The food, presents, vouchers, goodies and many other items were greatly appreciated.
We were completly overwhelmed by the generiosity of everyone. The deliveries and gifts were given to families in Porirua, Hutt Valley and Wellington.
Thank you for your generosity that helped ease some of the burden for families that find Christmas time a hard time to provide, especially with the continued impact of Covid-19.
We hope you had a wonderful break and wish you all a happy new year!
Challenge 2000
If you are interested in personal work and social work development, youth ministry and service, and developing your leadership attributes and skills, then we have a place for you!!
For more information, see our page here, or contact Kitty McKinley
kittymckinley@challenge2000.org.nz | 04 477 6827
The past few weeks have been as busy as ever (as we are sure you can all relate to!)
We have run a Christmas-themed holiday programme for children, have a wrapping booth at Johnsonville mall, hosted a celebration for friends and partner agencies and much more…
Looking back at 2021, it has been quite the journey. We want to thank all of you who supported Challenge 2000, making what we do possible.
For a more in depth outline of what we have been up to, please see our 2021 Christmas newsletter below.
Meri Kirihimete and have a fantastic and restorative Summer break! 
Aroha nui, Challenge 2000
Over the past couple of weeks, our retreat team has been lucky enough to work with the students of the Catholic schools in our community, from Central Wellington to Heretaunga!
Through different activities, students honed their own talents, communication and teamwork skills – all essential qualities of a great leader.
We are so privileged to have spent the last few weeks with these talented young people, and are looking forward to the many different ways these students will contribute to their schools and our community.
Here are some photos of the wonderful retreat days.
So now it is officially December, it is time to start thinking of Christmas.
Here at Challenge we have put up our lights outside, decorated the Christmas tree, and dressed the house in red and green…. 
For those who do not know, Christmas is also a time where, every year, Challenge 2000 puts together over 130 Food and gift families to whanau that we believe need a little extra help over the Christmas period. Our elves are working tirelessly to decorate our boxes, buy sweets, chickens, sausages, gifts for all children (and wrap them!)… the list goes on and on.
And that is where YOU come in! We are putting the word out to see if any of you could help donate any food, new toys / clothes, gifts and vouchers! We would be grateful for any extra help which we would pass on to others..
Thank you all, and have a blessed Christmas period!
Last Thursday we managed to finally all have a day together to reconnect! It had been quite a few months since we had done this, due to COVID-19 restrictions, so it was something we were all looking forward to.
The day focused on Whanaungatanga and cultural learning. We all brought a plate of ethnic kai which fuelled us for the day.
Throughout the day some of our staff spoke about their culture, traditions, ideas and learnings and their history. We learnt some basic Tokelauan, we got our hips moving with some Pacific Groove moves, and we learnt how to make our very own poi!
Thanks to the staff for teaching us these valuable skills.
And also a big thanks to the Collective Community Hub for making this staff gathering possible, we are very grateful.
Court Supervised Camp
A five day trip took place in October with two rangatahi from Challenge 2000.
We travelled north to Ohakune, where we made our base for the coming days.
Our first big activity was white water rafting on the Tongariro River, a gauntlet of some 60 rapids that we navigated over several hours. After some hard work carrying the raft and working through the water, we relaxed in the hot pools at Turangi.
The following day we set off on the Old Coach Road bike trail which took us through lush forest, rolling hillsides and along the old cobbled coach road leading in and out of Ohakune. We had definitely earned our evening bounty of a BBQ dinner!
The next day we took a gondola ride on the Sky Waka at Whakapapa Ski Resort and spent some time in the snow up the mountain. Over the course of the trip, a small table tennis competition had started and this, along with some gradually engrossing games of Monopoly Deal, formed the bulk of our evening entertainment.
