For the past seven weeks of Term 4, Te Kauwhata College Year 9 students have been lucky enough to take part in a programme called Taku Wairua. Taku Wairua is a programme that is aimed at allowing students to learn more about themselves and set goals for the future. At the conclusion of this learning experience, the Taku Wairua programme has a ‘Giving Back’ section included in the learning. The school, in conjunction with Taku Wairua, had the opportunity to decide what charity or organisation they would like to ‘Give Back’ to. As a school, we made the decision to focus our ‘Giving Back’ to the very deserving charity, Kids In Need Waikato.
Kids in Need Waikato is a fantastic organisation that gives children, who would not be getting any presents this Christmas, special gifts (Christmas presents) that fulfil their wishes. This organisation puts smiles on children’s faces and creates a whole lot of happiness on Christmas Day.
Thanks to the school Mufti Day and donations from the Te Kauwhata community, we were able to raise $850 to purchase items to give to children in need in the Waikato area. The money raised was used to buy toys, clothes, toiletries and things these children would really cherish this Christmas.
The Taku Wairua team, Year 9 leaders and Mrs Wallace (DP) went to Cambridge on Friday, November 24, to deliver the donations to the Kids in Need headquarters. Visiting Kids in Need HQ enabled us to learn so much about the organisation. The amazing staff who work there are so kind and give up many hours of their own time to make a difference in the lives of others.
All in all, I felt that this was an incredible experience for Year 9 leaders to be a part of, and it’s truly inspiring to witness all of the incredible things Kids In Need Waikato do for our wider community. We would also like to thank Nat and Fabian from Taku Wairua for organising our visit and taking us to Cambridge on the day.
Janhavi Rege – Year 9 Leader
