A group of boys and young men impacted by the 15 March attacks on their community have just enjoyed a northern adventure.
The 20-strong group, aged between 12 and 18, were either worshipping at the Christchurch mosques when they were attacked, or lost family and friends.
The adventure this month – which took in Auckland, Rotorua and Taupō - was organised by Christchurch Police, Muslim youth workers and Blue Light, the charity that works in partnership with Police and communities to deliver youth programmes.
“Many of the boys have never been out of Christchurch and we wanted to give them a fun week away in the North Island creating new, positive memories,” says Constable Bruce Ward, who was behind the planning.
“This the trip was a chance to build relationships with Police and for us to give something special back. It was also a real opportunity for the police staff to understand the richness of the Muslim culture.”
The boys were greeted by Police, Blue Light staff and members of the Counties Manukau Muslim Association at Auckland Airport. They played mini-golf before being hosted by the South Auckland Mosque – Masjid Al Mustafa.
They visited Sky City then headed to Rotorua and Taupō, where they experienced zorbing, luging, Tāmaki Māori Village, whitewater rafting, mountain biking and jet boating.
The trip ended at Rainbows End theme park, and a visit to the Counties Manukau Police hub, where they met with Waitematā District Commander Superintendent Naila Hassan.
Rod Bell, Blue Light CEO, says the organisation was honoured to be invited to be part of the initiative by Bruce and his colleagues.
“It is always a pleasure to support police and the work that they do building relationships between cops, kids and communities,” says Rod.
Youth worker Hesham Jones, from Nawawi Centre in Christchurch, thanked the police involved.
“It was a pleasure spending time with all the police - it wasn't long before we saw them all as friends first before police officers,” he says.
“These boys have shown tremendous resilience and I have never seen them so excited when they were preparing for this trip. The amount of engagement we had with the boys during the camp was priceless.
“I genuinely believe that we will look back on this experience as a major milestone in the recovery of our community.”
Naila says she was impressed by the resilience, tenacity and courage shown by the boys.
“It was an honour and a pleasure spending time with them again and think we have all benefitted from spending time with each other to understand culture and practices,” she says.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to build this bridge together and support the future of our Muslim society.”
ENDS