Each week we will be featuring a post from one of The Tindall Foundation’s management team talking about their personal highlights throughout the year.
It’s hard to believe how fast 2013 flew by. There were so many highlights from the year. The team was lucky to visit organisations funded through our Supporting Families and Social Services programme area. One of the stand-out organisations for me was Manurewa Parenting Hub. The hub is an amazing community of mums and dads finding new ways to become leaders for their children and in their community. The hub itself provides a space for families from many ethnicities and backgrounds to receive and provide support to their children, from babies to those who have left home.
On the day we visited the hub was full. There were so many activities taking place. Parents were looking at games and strategies to engage with their children and make homework fun while learning themselves. There was baking, sharing stories of challenges and giving support. The room was full of positive wall messages and photos of achievements. Many parents had taken courses or re-trained in IT and back to work programmes including teacher aide programmes, supported by the local schools in the area.
A newspaper article was shared with us. The story was of a boy who struggled at school and at home. Family life was tough for everyone and mum had nowhere to turn. However, through the support of the hub and the school community, gradually the mother found new ways to engage with her son. That same boy was connected to a male leader in the community and is now excelling as an apprentice and is in college. The family is now flourishing in a way that would have seemed impossible months before. The son’s name in print proves to the wider community that hubs like this really do work.
One other story was of a mum who had extremely low self confidence. She would not even enter the school gate, choosing to watch her kids get to their classrooms from a distance. A friend invited her to the hub for coffee and now she supports one of the programmes within the hub.
Our Supporting Families and Social Services programme area is aimed at the heart of the community, and the organisations that do an incredible job giving families the confidence to be that heart.
Watch our video about Manurewa Parenting Hub to learn more about what they do.