Eva Bradley
The Hastings suburb of Camberley doesn't often make the headlines for its good news. More likely it's crime, domestic violence and unemployment.
Until now. A pilot school holiday programme in the suburb is turning troubled youngsters around and transforming idle hours into activity.
Sixty children aged between five and 12 are
spending their days learning team-building skills instead of tearing down their neighbourhood. During the last school holiday period $6000 worth of damage was done to Camberley school by idle youths - most of it in smashed glass.
This time, the grounds are ship-shape and in place of graffiti are rows of smiling faces focusing on ball-handling skills and preparing for a rock-climbing session in the afternoon.
"There has been so much crime, so much vandalism and the parents didn't know what to do with the kids. We realised that we needed to do something constructive," says Lisa Halbert, who is organising the Te Ora Hau holiday programme and is Camberley's Safer Streets representative for the Hastings District Council.
And if a melting pot of all ages might not be the easiest way to manage young children, at least they are managed.
"Normally some of these eight-year-olds would be at home alone during the holidays looking after three-year-olds. That's how serious it can be," says Mrs Halbert.
Instead, they are supervised by 10 volunteer parents during activities that include a fashion show, police visit, even a trip to Splash Planet.
"This is the first time some of these kids have ever gone there. That's something many of us take for granted."
Behind the scenes, a woman known to almost everyone in the suburb simply as "Mumsy" works her way though a pile of white bread with a buttered knife. All seven of her young children are enrolled in the programme and instead of itching to escape to play with their friends as they normally would during the holidays, they leave at 2.30pm "on an adrenalin rush" and can't wait to get back.
"This is the first time we've had something like this in Camberley so it is a positive thing and hopefully more whanau in the community will support it in future," she says.
As Hawke's Bay police tackle the growing problem of unsupervised youth through hard-line punishments, this community is finding its own way of making things right.
As the day draws to an end, a supervisor shouts out the motto "The place to be is ... " and 60 voices yell back, "Camberley".
