On The Up: Havelock North schoolboy cleans 180 recycling crates to raise 152 cans of food

Luca Rethman, of Hereworth School, Havelock North, raised 152 cans of food for the school's food drive by cleaning recycling crates.

A Hawke’s Bay schoolboy has cleaned almost 180 recycling crates, all in exchange for cans for his school’s food drive.

Each year, Hereworth School in Havelock North runs a foodbank appeal, raising non-perishable food items to donate to local charity Nourished for Nil.

However, one Year 6 pupil had a cunning plan to bring the donations in – he would wash recycling crates in exchange for cans of food.

Luca Rethman, 10, was having dinner with his family when his mother, Elthena, asked him what he was going to do to help bring in food for the school’s drive.

To get his citizenship badge at school, Luca had cleaned his community members’ recycling bins.

“So then I thought that maybe if I clean bins, then they could give food in return,” he said.

Luca said he thought he had cleaned about 180 bins, using dishwashing liquid with a sponge, hose and bucket.

He managed to raise 152 cans of food to go towards Hereworth’s 900kg of food donated to Nourished for Nil.

“Our school motto is Non Nobis Solum. It means not for us alone,” Luca said.

“My teacher at school, Mr Niehorster, really helped and encouraged me to do this.

“I feel without him, I wouldn’t have been so encouraged.”

Luca Rethman cleaning recycling crates in exchange for cans of food to give to Nourished for Nil.

Now that Luca has finished his food collection campaign and school for the year, he is looking forward to enjoying time off this summer, but will still be helping feed the people at the Havelock North Function Centre during Christmas with his family.

“I’m from Cape Town, so I’m quite used to all this charity work and I feel really good after helping charities,” he said.

Outside of the charity work, Luca is aiming for a career as an aeronautical engineer, but has one goal that could change his home country.

“Another goal I’m trying to reach on my bucket list is to raise money to get toilets in South Africa, because lots of people end up dying because they still have old-fashioned long drops and people end up stuck in there.”

Until then, he’s in training for the 100m, 200m, 400m and long jump at the Colgate Games from January 9 to 11, when he will represent Hastings Athletic Club.

Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke’s Bay Today and has worked in radio and media in the UK, Germany and New Zealand.