“Rising has just been the strongest pillar of support for me - since I was 15.”
When she started with the charity, Pohiva’s co-ordinator was a woman named Grace Kingi, who helped her navigate through school and her relationships with her peers.
“She always kept me in check even when I tried to distance myself from the group. She’d always give me my space, but would reel me back in when she knew that I needed it.”
Kingi helped Pohiva when she felt lost with her career path after school.
“Instead of forcing this and that on me, she just encouraged me to come to camps as a volunteer. It just sparked my passion for working with youth.
“My co-ordinator was more like a big sister to me just giving me life advice like that.”
Papakura High School students participating in The Rising Foundation programme session where they talk about the importance of values. Photo / The Rising Foundation
Kingi has since become a police officer and Pohiva is now working as a co-ordinator. She now wants to mirror the support she received.
“That’s kind of the leader I want to be for our kids.”
The Rising Foundation has helped many students obtain life skills - including getting their driver’s licenses and preparing them for employment.
“They’ve helped me get jobs, they’ve taken me to job interviews, prepped me for job interviews, given me gas vouchers to get to and from these things and helped me with my studies application.”
Giving back to the community
The charity was established in 2009 and helps schools in the South Auckland area - one of them being Papakura High School.
Kiwi snack brand Bluebird has donated $100,000 to the charity as part of its community work. The grant will help pay for a full-time programme co-ordinator and mentor to be based at the school.
Tanya McFarlane, of PepsiCo Bluebird Foods Ltd, said the investment would provide students involved with the motivation, support and confidence needed to stay in school and create a better future for themselves.
Rising Foundation programme co-ordinator George Holland works alongside Sela Pohiva to provide support for up to 70 students at Papakura High. Photo / Mary Afemata
Pohiva says the programme goes beyond classroom learning, helping students to grow holistically through relationships and real-life issues.
“We’re not government-funded. We’re just a small little charity that was trying to get our name out there - but the work that we do is huge.”
The Papakura local hopes to remind the students of their leadership skills, just as her coordinators saw the same qualities in her.
“[It’s about] teaching them that everything is their own responsibility and they’re in control of what they can do.”
Year 13 students Lorretta Ioane and Kevin Va’alele are among the students Pohiva will mentor and support. They say the Rising Foundation is their safe space.
Neither had any expectations when they joined, they said. Their choice to remain in the programme speaks volumes, especially when it means volunteering their lunchtime.
“The more I came, the more I like made relationships with people,” Kevin said.
“And then soon they became friends and slowly, family.”
Mary Afemata is one of 12 cadets in the Te Rito journalism programme, which has a focus on training more culturally diverse reporters to ensure newsrooms reflect Aotearoa’s multicultural society. Mary loves telling stories focused on her South Auckland community, Pasifika and has a special interest in reviews on theatre shows and film.
