Funding given for community growth in Te Hiku

Three community groups will be celebrating after Te Hiku Community Board granted them a share of more than $4,000 in funding during its 26 September meeting.

Te Hiku Sanitarium Weet-Bix Kids TRY CHALLENGE received $3,000 towards a three-week nationwide programme that encourages Kiwi kids aged 5-15 years old to get active and have fun as they work towards achieving a physical activity goal, earning their champions medal and TRYathalon t-shirt.

The board has allocated $1,365 to Te Hiku Roller Skating. The group has started a Sunday skating session held at Te Ahu every second Sunday from 2-4pm when participants from five years and over are welcome. This funding will help cover hire fees at Te Ahu and the purchase of a sound system. 

The board approved a grant of $200 to Esther Louise for props in the filming of Loloma, a celebration of Fijian culture and language. Loloma, meaning love in Fijian, is a 10-minute short film being shot in Kaitāia and Kawakawa. It tells Margaret’s story, a Fijian woman in her 70s, who is heartbroken and depressed after the loss of her husband. Unsure about how to live life without him and to honour his memory, she wrestles with the decision to embark on a nationwide train trip.

In other business, in July $10,000 was granted to Coast to Coast Cat Rescue to undertake cat trapping, desexing and the treatment of cats. The group has struggled to find volunteers in Te Hiku to undertake the group’s work, which could have seen the funding withdrawn. The board has reconfirmed the funding after Coast to Coast Cat Rescue agreed to work with Top Vets, which has agreed to stock traps that can be hired out to locals who wish to trap cats and to provide discounted de-sexing services.

The next Te Hiku Community Board meeting will be held on Tuesday 24 October at Te Ahu. It can be watched live on Facebook and YouTube from 10am.