Hanging out, having fun: some Rock Solid basket-ballers, including Levi and Ryvah, outside the Brockville Full Primary School by Sharon Fowler
Our Grantees - Kids being kids – with impact
Sharon Fowler - The Daily Encourager — December 11, 2022
Young people are building social skills through sports and activities, and giving back to their community, in a Dunedin state housing suburb. This beautiful article in The Daily Encourager profiles the 'mahi' of Dunedin’s Straight Up Trust.
On a sunny day, hilltop Brockville is bathed in sunlight and any day, its inhabitants are generally warm and welcoming. It’s also a place where some families struggle with everyday needs.
Last year, the Brockville Full Primary School asked Dunedin’s Straight Up Trust to expand its Rock Solid youth development programmes to the suburb.
Through this partnership, lunchtime games and activities at the school have grown into a Tuesday night Brockville Youth Club for ages 11 to 14 and weekly basketball at the Edgar Centre.
School Principal Tania McDonald says students involved in Rock Solid have shown increased confidence, social skills and empathy.
They are learning to believe in themselves and it shows in their interactions with others, their manners and self-esteem,” she says.
Some of the club participants attend high school.
Rock Solid regulars Levi Mielnik (14) and Ryvah Ratima (12) say they have fun hanging out with friends.
The boys talk enthusiastically about the vans which take them to farms or rural Three Mile Hill, where they can chill out, gazing at the horizon.
They’ve seen wild deer, including a dead one, and sometimes after outings the group goes to “Macca’s”, a.k.a McDonald’s, for hot chocolate, frozen cokes or slushies.
They’ve played touch rugby and spotlight, running through the darkness to a goal without being ‘spotted’ by someone waving a torch.
Club participants also work together on fun challenges such as creating an unbreakable egg case from balloons, cups, cardboard, tape and string.
“The teachers, they’re real nice and helpful. They talk and make us feel welcomed,” Ryvah says of the youth workers and volunteers.
Try it out
And what would the boys say to others thinking of trying Rock Solid?
“Try it out, it’s real fun to do,” Levi replies.
“It’ll be mean if they came,” Ryvah adds.
Levi says the atmosphere is supportive and being there will boost the self-esteem of anyone suffering from anxiety.
“If they’re put down at school, they can come to Rock Solid and feel welcomed and we can look after them and treat them well,” he says.
The boys like how the club celebrates birthdays with doughnuts and chocolate cake. If a child is sad, an adult will talk with them and help.
“Overall, I reckon it’s great for anyone,” Ryvah says.
Brockville boys lead an awesome haka, to enthusiastic applause at a Rock Solid gathering in the Dunedin suburb
Student Mentoring
Rock Solid Manager Kristin Jack says three youth workers, Mark O’Donnell, Lilly Adam and Kyran Tranter, are based at Brockville school.
They’re mentoring students through sports and activities designed to build social skills and give back to the community.
Mark teaches them to build desks, playground equipment for the school and beautiful rimu stools which are given to the school or donated. He also assists in the challenging transition to high school.
The club meets at the Brockville Community Church hall rent-free and when Daily Encourager visited, noisy children were running around, greeting each other by name and clearly enjoying themselves.
Lilly was sitting on the floor, surrounded by youngsters. She’s the girl’s mentor and they do “mana enhancing stuff” together.
They bake for the community and their families, do pottery, visit the museum or art gallery and talk lots about what’s going on in their lives.
She’s seen the girls learning to cope and handle disappointment when they don’t win at sport or a project doesn’t go to plan.
Kyran also runs the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons for Year 7 and 8s on Wednesdays, facilitating different stories which help them explore social issues and learn more about themselves.
Through all the Brockville activities, he’s observed young people developing in leadership as they’re trusted to lead.
He sees them making the mental jumps needed as they change their behaviour. And growing in confidence as, for example, they visit a supermarket and need to speak with the cashier.
The kids are proud of Brockville, Kyran says.
“I think the main thing is having a sense of belonging in their community.”
While Rock Solid teaches the children positive values, it also simply provides something to go to.
“At the end of the day, it’s just a space for them to be them.”
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