Morrison make the journey north to meet Dreamers

“It was such an honour to be invited to visit I Have a Dream at Tikipunga High School in Whangarei.

The Morrison team was delighted to see the wonderful work that you are doing, and to witness first-hand the positive impact the program is having on Dreamers and their broader community. We are a hugely proud supporter of IHAD and look forward to exploring further ways we can support the organisation”

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Last month the I Have a Dream team hosted a beautiful contingent of manuhiri (visitors) from Morrison, valued supporters of I Have a Dream, at Tikipunga High School where they had the opportunity to spend the day with both Navigators and Dreamers and get a sense first hand of the impact we are having on young lives.

Morrison is a leading global infrastructure investor with the distinct purpose of investing wisely in ideas that matter. Each of their offices make the decision about which charities to support as part of their philanthropic programme – we’re thrilled that the team from the Auckland office chose to support us.  The visit from this contingent illustrated their strong alignment with our kaupapa, values and impact.

The day started off with a moving whakatau and waiata. Representatives from both I Have a Dream and Morrison spoke beautifully to open the day and connect the group. After morning tea, our visitors were divided into teams and treated to activities carefully designed by the Navigator Team Leads to ensure engagement and interaction with Dreamers and to align with our values.

Navigators from both High School and Primary School teams were on hand to spend time with the Morrison team and to assist with the activities.

Year 8 Navigator Dwayne Tainui led an activity anchored in Rangatiratanga (Empowerment) where small groups of Morrison visitors were partnered with Dreamers to participate in tent assembling task with a twist – each group had 2 Dreamers and 2 visitors working together to put up a tent, however 2 of the group were blindfolded and they were the only people allowed to touch any part of the tent. The other group members had to guide them with verbal instructions only which meant they had to quickly form a connection and work together as a team. It was a great exercise to watch, those instructing were hyper-focused on the best way to describe what to do next and those blindfolded had to listen intently over all other noise in the room and do everything by touch – all while wearing ornate, masquerade style masks that had been modified to make them impossible to see through. This is an activity that Dwayne has done with Dreamers before as part of his programme to help them build fine motor skills, resilience and determination. The Morrison team took on the challenge with great enthusiasm and enjoyed this session immensely.

Year 12 Navigator Lucia Kotze led the second activity which took the Morrison team to different parts of the high school and was all based on the value Ako (learning). First stop was to a Year 11 classroom where students were undertaking a Barista and Life Skills course. The timing was impeccable with freshly brewed cups of espresso made by students were ready for Morrison team members to enjoy. This was also a great opportunity for our visitors to chat with students and ask them about the I Have a Dream programme and their dreams and aspirations. They then went to visit students working towards NCEA in the beautiful Waimirirangi building, an in-school marae with stunning carvings and stained glass windows. This session was an opportunity to see students engaged in their learning environments and get a sense of the powerful mana of the school community.
The last of the day’s activities was led by Year 9 Navigator Rose Welsh, which was a ‘speed dating’ style event created to reflect our Whānaungatanga (relationships) value. A series of conversation circles were set out in HQ and in each area one Dreamer, one Morrison manuhiri (visitor) and one Navigator engaged in a mini-conversation about their time with I Have a Dream. Our manuhiri then reciprocated by sharing their own story. Each table was given 6 minutes to speak to one or more pre-selected pātai (question). Dreamers spoke about their favourite I Have a Dream memories, and specific ways they feel the IHAD kaupapa has helped them personally. The kōrero was free flowing and candid but deeply respectful towards each individual Dreamer’s levels of comfort speaking to our visitors with Navigators on hand to help prompt and guide the conversations. This activity offered an opportunity to build a one on one connection with a Dreamer for the Morrison team and they enjoyed having this opportunity to put individual faces and names to some of our Dreamers. For Dreamers, it was an opportunity to build confidence in meeting and talking to someone older and ask any questions they may have about the corporate world.

Our visitors then enjoyed lunch alongside Dreamers and the I Have a Dream team and made the return trip to Tāmaki Makaurau with their hearts and minds filled with the memories of the day.

We wish to extend our sincere gratitude to Morrison for their ongoing support and the open-hearted way they approached this visitor day, and to Tikipunga High School for their partnership in hosting our guests at the kura. We hope to see you all return to Te Tai Tokerau very soon!

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