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A grandmother can’t stop talking about this

Kia ora

We’ve had a huge start 2020! 

We kicked off our creative programmes with more young people than ever and our afternoon hangs space has been exploding with new and exciting engagement opportunities for West Auckland rangatahi. 

Our centre is being utilised by different communities and there is an all-round buzz of excitement here at Zeal West Auckland. 

445 young people

at afternoon hangs this month 

 54 young people

at creative programmes this term

A Good Story – Meet Jessica

Jessica is a young girl who came through our programmes as a referral from a counselling service. She was having a tough time engaging in social environments, wasn’t connecting well with education and had a very tough upbringing. 

At Zeal, she has found a place of belonging in her hip hop dance class and has not only shown consistent attendance but has stepped up as a leader in her class and has forged some amazing friendships with staff and fellow students.  

Her grandmother can’t stop talking about the change she has witnessed in Jessica since starting her journey with Zeal and we look forward to continuing our walk alongside her in the months to come. 

Valentine’s Day acoustics

We celebrated Valentine’s Day with a special Zeal acoustics event. Our acoustic events are a chance for young people to showcase their talents and take the stage to be the superstars they are meant to be. Five local acts performed a range of covers and originals. 

We made the most of the summer sun and took the event outside, threw in a free BBQ and attracted a number of passers-by to join in on the festivities. 

We’re looking forward to running a series of these acoustic events in collaboration with the new Te Puna Market on Saturday mornings in partnership with Panuku.

Afton Place BBQ

Last month we got to collaborate with a number of different providers to serve one of the most vulnerable communities in West Auckland. 

Afton Place in Ranui has had a hard run in the past and is over-represented in a number of statistics for West Auckland service providers. In partnership with the Police, Sport Waitakere, Youth Services West / Youth Horizons, Ranui Baptist Church and the local Ranui community we put on a massive street BBQ filled with giveaways, activities and general good times. 

It’s always rewarding to be able to serve in a space like this but the relationships and friendships our youth workers created through this opportunity is what we cherish most of all. We look forward to exploring more street BBQs all over West Auckland in the near future.