Oturu School students were thrilled to receive boxes and bags of donated sports gear last week. Photo / Noel Garcia
Oturu School students were thrilled to receive boxes and bags of donated sports gear last week. Photo / Noel Garcia
Oturu School was buzzing with anticipation last Friday as it welcomed a special guest bearing invaluable gifts and a practical message about caring for our planet.
At one of the school's first assemblies since before Covid, a special pōwhiri (welcoming ceremony) and haka were performed and heartfelt gratitude expressed for the Far North's first donation from The Lentil Intervention's Pre-Loved Sports Gear Appeal.
Following the ceremony, boxes and bags brimming with shoes, jackets, hoodies, T-shirts, field hockey equipment, thermals and drink bottles were presented, bringing visible delight to 160 tamariki and their teachers.
Principal Sacha Williams exclaimed the event felt like Christmas.
"This is very exciting. I can see lots of eyes that want to get into this," she laughed.
Williams explained that the school had recently lost some of its sports gear due to theft.
It was this unfortunate event that led Angelina Wakarua of Sport Northland to choose Oturu School, along with Kaikohe Christian School, to each receive half a carload of sports gear.
As a Healthy Active Learning Facilitator at Sport Northland, Wakarua works with schools in the Far North and knows just about all of them could use more sports gear.
"It's tough for our kids. Priorities understandably go away from a pair of shoes," said Wakarua.
"If kids don't have the right shoes, they shy away from playing.
"When they go out and play sport and if they have the gear, they feel good.
"It's a confidence booster for kids."
As soon as Wakarua heard from Ben Eitelberg, co-founder of The Lentil Intervention (TLI), she knew the opportunity would be huge for Far North kids.
While TLI educates people about improving personal and planetary health through lifestyle changes, Eitelberg started The Pre-Loved Sports Gear Appeal in 2012 after realising how much perfectly good sports gear was going to waste.
Oturu School principal Sacha Williams at a recent pōwhiri (welcoming ceremony) said children and whānau would benefit greatly from sports gear donated by The Lentil Intervention. Photo / Noel Garcia
As an endurance athlete who has represented New Zealand and South Africa, he saw the problem of upgrading to new gear each season piling up in his very own closet.
The appeal started as an annual initiative but is now one of TLI's campaigns and a registered charity, making it easier to get funding.
"Sport is important for both kids and adults, for our self-development, our growth and our learning," said Eitelberg.
"It helps you build confidence and learn about teamwork.
"Sport also gets you out in nature, helping you bond with the Earth."
Eitelberg added it also made people more aware of what was happening to the planet.
"We need to care for this world together, and this is one way we can do it."
The Auckland-based appeal has recently expanded with a storage unit, allowing it to receive more donations.
Eitelberg said his relationships with retailers including MacPac and Shoe Clinic, and sporting event organisers like Total Sport were helping the appeal grow, with quality gear either hardly used or sometimes even brand-new.
"Since I've been able to up the quality of the gear, I wanted to reach out further."
Eitelberg said he hoped to make 2-3 annual trips to Northland in future, bringing gear to deserving schools and communities.
"Sport for me is a huge part of what made me who I am," he said.
"Not having the right gear can prohibit kids from getting out there, so I hope this helps them get out there, develop into good people and the world is their oyster."
Principal Williams said Oturu School worked to teach children to be kaitiaki (guardians) of their whenua (land).
"We love your kaupapa [cause]. It aligns quite nicely with our school," Williams told Eitelberg.
"Some of our children and our whānau will benefit greatly from this gear.
"It takes a village to raise these kids, and now you're part of our village. Thank you."
