Exercise your NO muscle today!

Read some appalling statistics today - in Northland, our region, police attend an average of 17 domestic calls a day.  That is 17 too many!  Especially when you consider over 75% of domestic violence incidents are not reported to police.  So the actual numbers are far far worse.


Each year an average of 27 men, women and children are killed due to family violence.  That is 27 too many.

One of the common myths about domestic violence is ‘Why doesn’t she just leave?’.  The important thing to remember is that no-one asks to be abused .  The responsibility lies firmly with the abuser to stop their behaviour.  

Family violence is a pattern of physical, sexual, emotional or financial violence that leaves the victim intimidated, hurt and fearful for their life, and the lives of their family. Learn more about this pattern of power and control, and the types of abuse.


Domestic violence is not limited to any demographic. It happens in rural and urban areas, within all age, religious and ethnic groups, and across all socio-economic groups. It can happen between people who are married, in de facto relationships or just dating. Domestic violence happens in same sex relationships, too.
 
The Domestic Violence Act 1995 legally protects anyone in a domestic relationship from violence: married couples; unmarried couples; gay and lesbian couples; children; family; anyone in a close relationship; and flatmates and

others who may share accommodation from violence. 


If the victim cannot stand up for themselves it is those in the community around them to open our eyes and not stand by and allow it to happen.  We need to say it's not okay.  

So exercise your NO muscle when you see violence in our society, as the change starts with all of us saying it's not okay!



Read more at Northern Advocate article.
For statistics look at Family Violence statistics
For support or advice see http://areyouok.org.nz/
Other links:  MASSIVE, Womens Refuge NZ, Justice Dept, Legislation

We are Open!

Yes the community drop-in centre had a wonderful opening on Monday.  It was a great first day with many members of the community and supporting services attending.

A special thanks to Rau for attending to bless our space to make it ready to care for the community.

Huge thanks to the Kaiwaka Cares committee who have worked tirelessly to get this up and running.  In case you are not aware they are:  Rhona Vickoce, Helen Marsh, Scott Dalziell, Iris Kelly, Sarah Cristini, Glo Treadway and Janine Boult.  Also many thanks to the many members of the community who have contributed items to make the drop-in centre more homely so that the people of Kaiwaka have somewhere to come together and enjoy each other's company.

Of course none of this would have been able to happen without the tremendous support and encouragement from Yvonne Brown.  Yvonne is the amazing woman that runs Kate's Place and we are so happy to be working alongside her and all that she does for the community of Kaiwaka.

The drop-in centre will be open every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10am to 2pm.  Feel free to pop into our cosy space, have a cuppa, read a book or help out with the puzzle.

Next week we will be adding a computer to the room.  This will be available for the community to use to access the internet.  We do ask for a small koha for using this to enable us to provide this for the people of Kaiwaka.

If you wish to book the space to use for your group outside of our opening times please contact us at caring4kaiwaka@gmail.com.

Community Social Space - Drop-In Centre Opening!

The elves have been busy getting the drop-in centre ready to open.  It has been wonderful the support from the community that we have been able to get things ready for opening.

We can't wait to show you the space. Below is a sneak preview of the room.  It's scrubbed up really well and I'm looking forward to it being put to good use!

The grand opening is on Monday 20 July 2015 at 10am.  If you can't make it down to see us on Monday don't worry you won't miss out.  The centre will be open every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10am to 2pm.

Look forward to seeing you soon!

     

Massive Hikoi

WALK TO SUPPORT "MASSIVE" MONDAY 1 JUNE 2015

Too often we hear via the media about another sexual attack, or some case that is going through the courts.  Unfortunately that is only the tip of the iceberg.  Most events of sexual violence are not reported.

It's a sad fact that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 8 boys will be 'exposed' to sexual violence before they turn 16.  For these children there innocence in childhood is shattered and the emotional and physical impact will go on for many years, if not for their whole lives.

There are lots of services available to help the victims of sexual violence, but is that enough.  We need to stop the violence before it happens.  We need to make it so unacceptable in all forms, at whatever age.

The hikoi that will be coming through Kaiwaka aims to raise awareness as it is much easier to prevent sexual violence than it is to recover from it.

Tomorrow at 12:00 the hikoi is due to reach Kaiwaka.  If you want to walk to support this initiative and say no to sexual violence then meet at the corner of Settlement Road and State Highway 1 at 12:00.

The hikoi will then walk through Kaiwaka before it heads out of our town.  If you can't walk all the way through town then join where you can or meet the hikoi as it goes over the bridge and on into Northland.

Look forward to seeing you all there.

Being Neighbourly

One of the things I disliked about living in Auckland was that often people weren't interested, or simply didn't care, about who their neighbours were.  Even though we are in a small community there are still people who might not know their neighbours.

Three of the most important reasons why it's good to know your neighbours are:

• creating a safer community
• helping each other out 
• and the real bonus of knowing your neighbours is that you may make a new friend!

Breaking down the barriers is part of the reason behind the new community social space that we are creating at Kate's Place.

Whilst sometimes technology can hinder neighbourly relations, it can also be useful way of finding out what is going on.

On Facebook there are many groups for all kinds of interests.  Of particular use for those of us interested in knowing our Kaiwaka neighbours are:

• Kaiwaka Community - ask and answer questions, buy and sell, find out what's going on
• Kaiwaka Community Cinema - catch a movie and meet other locals
• Kaiwaka Sports Association - meet like minded people and enjoy sports at the same time
• Kaiwaka Library - expanding your mind whilst meeting your neighbours
• Kaiwaka Cares - where you can find out what's happening at the community space

Another group that also supports people being able to easily communicate with neighbours is the site Neighbourly.  This is a New Zealand website setup to try and bridge the divide and get neighbours meeting and communicating with neighbours.  

Some of you may have received a letter from Neighbourly recently.  That was because of me, Janine Boult.  No it's not a scam or trying to sell you anything it's just another way of keeping in touch if you want to join.

If you know of any other sites we should highlight or add to this list then please l

I Love Living in a Small Town

Today is one of those Fridays.  You know the type when your 3 year old climbing into bed and peeling your eyelids open.

After two days in Auckland I have arrived home with a cold, and I feel miserable.  It seems every time I go to Auckland now I get a cold.  My mother suggested that maybe I am allergic to the city.  Not sure about that I do know though that I am definitely allergic to the traffic!!!

So here I was at home after a few errands and went to make a nice cuppa.  No Milk!  So off down to Jaques to get the necessities, as my daughter informed me yesterday Jaques is where all good food comes from.

Get home after my short journey to find fresh cut flowers perched in the cats water bowl.  The cats didn't look amused.  Well tough to them - I loved it.

There is something about an unexpected gift that brightens your day and makes you feel appreciated and cared for.  I have no idea who they are from, although have my suspicions.  I just know they are a small kind deed that most likely wasn't hard to do and yet means so much to me.

It's one of the many reasons I love living in our small town.  It's the way that people look out for one another and actually care.

We may not have some of the conveniences of a larger settlement.  Who needs that though when we have a community who watches out for one another and actually care about the people around them.

Today is just one of the lovely ways that the people of Kaiwaka constantly delight me.  Thanks for letting us live here and I hope that in some way I am able to give back and make someone else's day brighter too.

We are not a ghost town!

In case you didn't see it tonight TV3 had an article on 3 News about poverty outside of Auckland.  \

If you haven't seen it then it's available to view online Rural neglect will lead to ghost towns.

Now here's my response to TV3 News which I have posted on their facebook page.

***************************************************************************

Dear TV3 News

What seemed like it could have been a great opportunity to showcase small town New Zealand and how we support and care for each other was completely wasted tonight.

As a resident of Kaiwaka I would just like to refute your assumption that our small town is a ghost town.  Your article on the news tonight had many shots of empty shops.  To a viewer who is not familiar with our town they could be mistaken in thinking that was here in Kaiwaka.  In case your reporter didn't notice when they were here, there are no empty shops in Kaiwaka.

The term ghost town suggests that a community is shrinking and going backwards.  Well that is definitely not a way to describe Kaiwaka.  We are growing and we are doing well.  Yes some of our community are struggling, but isn't that true throughout New Zealand including in the bigger towns and even in the cities.

In fact in Kaiwaka our businesses are growing and changing as our community grows.  We are doing everything we can to support and care for those in our community, which is part of what makes Kaiwaka so special.  Maria Paikea and her team, who you showcased providing help via the food bank, are only some of the very caring people we have here.

Life is not easy for alot of people.  Yes there is unemployment here.  Yes there is poverty here.  Hasn't that been something your own Campbell Live have been showcasing is happening in Auckland too.  But in Auckland do they care for each other as well as we care for our people.

Next time you want to make political grandstanding points perhaps you should take your cameras elsewhere and show some respect for communities like ours who are doing everything we can to care for our people.

Kaiwaka is a community that cares, please respect that about us.