Over the last two years there have been some changes at Tararua REAP – a move to work more holistically, the appointment of a new parent support worker, collaboration with a local iwi and of course more recently, responding to Covid-19 and the lockdown.

Tararua REAP is one of the smaller REAPs. Its base is in Dannevirke and it serves a largely rural population from Norsewood in the north to Woodville in the south.

Each week around 35 rangatahi decide to walk into the Lift premises in Napier. The large majority choose to come because they have heard from their cousin, their brother, their sister or a friend that it is a good place to go. Some hear about Lift when the organisation is out making a pitch in their community. A few are referred. Most are Māori, most are male and most come from challenging backgrounds. School was a disaster. Drugs have often been a solution. Mental health and homelessness are often a problem.

After the Christchurch earthquakes the people of Kaiapoi were asked by their council to choose a community project that could be developed on red zone land. As many supported the idea of a community garden or a food forest, a local couple, Brent and Shirley Cairns, were approached by their Council to kick-start the process and establish a food forest that would bring the community together, teach them about sustainable gardening and home-based food production, and provide a local source of food for foraging.

Aotearoa New Zealand now joins 74 other countries with access to a British Council Active Citizens programme.

The aim of the programme is to empower participants to make a positive contribution to the development of their local communities by supporting them to deliver social action, become more culturally competent and helping them to deliver sustainability through social enterprise.

So for our ACE providers using a community development approach this low-cost or free programme may provide a valuable professional development opportunity.