Hell Pizza programme gives Hamilton bullying survivor special day out

Bradly had a blast at Rainbow's End theme park thanks to Hell Pizza's Satan's Little Helper programme. Photo / Supplied

Hamilton boy Bradly Dover, 15, has a history of rising above the worst life can throw at him. He was bullied into home schooling and also spent his early years as a witness to domestic violence.

Additionally, Bradly was born with congenital nystagmus and has stationary night blindness, which affects his sight and ability to read printed text.

His mum, Joanne, says: "[Bradley] is very nervous and he's suspicious of everyone. Because he can't see clearly, it heightens his anxiety."

Bradly is not the only Kiwi suffering from bullying. According to research by Dr Vanessa Green, head of Victoria University's School of Educational Psychology and Pedagogy, 45 per cent of Kiwi teachers say verbal and social/relational bullying is brought to their attention once a week.

Just before the pandemic struck, the bullying got so bad that Bradly was physically ill at the thought of going to school and was spending three days a week at home.

During lockdown, he was able to access distance learning and started to thrive. Once normality returned to New Zealand, Bradly enrolled in Te Kura distance learning.

In 2013, Joanne broke her back and is unable to work. She has custody of her 20-month-old granddaughter who Bradly is helping to take care of.

Without his mum asking, he gets up at 6am to wake his niece, feed her and take her to the car, so she can get to day care. Then he gets on with his schoolwork until it's time to bathe his niece and clean the house.

When Hell Pizza's Satan's Little Helper programme was alerted to Bradly's bravery, they sent him and his sister for a day out to Rainbow's End theme park in Auckland, followed by a pizza dinner.

"He had an awesome time in Auckland. Bradly and his sister are really close, so he wanted her to have a day out. They both got a trip away and it was something different, because it's not something I can afford to go and do. There were no queues and he got to go on the rides straight away – they had a great day," says Joanne.

Over the next few years, Bradly plans to study to become a dairy farmer – his dream job.
For Bradly, there's no better way to announce to the world that the bullies will never win.