Helping kids to step up to a better life

The Bay of Islands, Te Tai Tokerau (Northland), Aotearoa (New Zealand) is home for us and the charity we are raising funds for – The Bald Angels Charitable Trust.

Our piece of kiwi paradise is dotted with pretty islands, white sandy beaches, magnificent forests, rare wildlife and mind-blowing landscapes with incredible people and an extraordinary spirit. Not bad, huh?

But, sadly, in Te Tai Tokerau we have possibly the highest cases of poverty in Aotearoa. We have the highest incidence of rheumatic fever and very little infrastructure to support the layout of our isolated communities. Public transport hardly exists. Surprisingly, many whanau (families) are living without running water and electricity. Access to services can often be problematic, in some cases, extremely difficult. Our region also has some of the highest rates of truancy, child deafness and tragically, youth suicide, in NZ and the western world.

The Bald Angels are doing a magnificent job but need as much support as they can in order to keep making a difference. They provide a complete range of volunteer based services with their annual programme including:

• Keep Our Kids Warm Campaign
• Angels Christmas Food Parcels
• Angels Christmas Toy Drive
• Arty Angels camp
• Memory Making Moments with Hospice Mid North
• AngelMates
• KiwiMana & Kaiārahi Youth Programmes

You can read more about this amazing Far North organisation on their website.

Reflecting on our 70+ year journey along the road of life, we realise that we have been privileged to have mostly enjoy a comfortable life. There have been challenges along the way but in our sunset years, and finally released from the necessity of the daily grind, life is good. In contrast, we see and hear of the growing number of children, especially here in Te Tai Tokerau (Northland) who are born into circumstances that severely limit their chances of leading much of a life at all. Children don’t get to choose the circumstances they are born into and to see Bald Angels making it their mission to give these vulnerable kids hope, is an inspiration for us and a cause we strongly believe in and endorse. Our 7,500+ km journey, in the sunset of our lives, while another privilege, offers us a chance to appeal to the kindness of others by undertaking something a little daring that will place us well outside the comforts that we normally enjoy.