The I Have a Dream team host an Open Day each term for prospective donors and interested parties. It’s an opportunity for us to share programme information and showcase Navigator and Dreamer interaction, but also an insightful experience for guests to experience a low decile school first hand – many for the first time.
For our most recent Open Day, we took a slightly different approach and invited our guests to interact and engage with our Dreamers through various activities. One such activity was helping the Year 8’s create Dream Catchers, which they’re selling as a fundraiser for their end of year trip to Auckland. A guest from Ngai Tahu, Nola Tipa, was attending the Open Day because their organisation had heard of the programme and wanted to experience the kaupapa in person.
“The interactions with the dreamers was amazing – learning through play is a great way to learn discipline, team collaboration, winning with grace and losing with dignity, leadership and membership.” Nola said of her experience getting involved in the Dreamer activities.
For Nola, the programme reiterated a lot about what is important to see Maori succeed. “Maori have high expectations and relationships are key therefore the fact that the [I Have a Dream] Navigators stay right through school with the kids is awesome. Upon experiencing the interaction first hand, it’s obvious that trust has been built up over time with [the Navigator and Dreamer] relationships.”.
I Have a Dream will be hosting another Open Day for anyone who is interested in understanding more about the programme or considering becoming a donor. The Open Day will be held on Wednesday 22 August 2018. If you’re interested in attending, then please contact Scott Gilmour, scott@ihaveadream.org.nz.
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