This article was first published in eMessenger in March 2020.
Lifewise’s early childhood education centre in Glen Eden is a purpose built facility colocated with the Methodist Parish. There is a garden planted in the canoe outside and the welcome sign reads, "The best things in life are free: hugs, smiles, friends, family, sleep, love, laughter
and good memories." I could not agree more!
Ali, the Centre manager, told us that the centre has capacity for thirty tamariki and currently they have twenty enrolled. The tamariki all know each other very well and are like cousins.
The focus is on creating a safe and welcoming place for the tamariki to be and to form trusting relationships. Ali says that when the relationships are right and everyone is keeping safe, then everything will be all right. To encourage this there is consistency in routines.
The centre is open Mondays to Fridays from 9am to 3pm and the day starts with breakfast which is provided for tamariki and their parents or caregivers to eat together.
Tamariki are encouraged to make their own food and they learn how to make their own sandwiches from the kai available in the pantry. There is fresh fruit available on the table for tamariki to eat anytime during the day. And when I visited there was a tomato growing on the vine outside in the garden which the tamariki showed me and excitedly explained they had been looking at it all week. One of the tamariki told me that on Monday the tomato was green and it slowly went orange and it was nearly red enough to eat today. This was Friday and the excitement of watching the tomato ripen slowly over the days as palpable.
The centre only has three rules:
1. Be kind to ourselves
2. Be kind to each other
3. Be kind to the environment
Ali reports the tamariki are growing a sense of empathy with the emphasis on kindness and say things like, “That’s not kind,” and are really caring for each other.
The centre has hot water plumbed outside which means that tamariki can enjoy waterplay summer and winter. The day I visited tamariki were in their swimming gear and soaking in individual tubs of warm water outside. They help fill up each other’s tubs with buckets and a piece of guttering used as a channel from the tap to the tub.
As well as the garden with the ripening tomato the outside play area has a large sandpit, a tree for climbing, and cable reels and wood planks for creating their own adventure playground.
Merge Café, 453 Karangahape Road, Auckland
I had lunch at Merge Café where there is “feel good food” – a delicious nutritious lunch which I ate with Uwe, the Volunteer Coordinator for Merge Community. People with lived experience of homelessness offer peer support, guidance and advocacy for people in the homeless community that come through the doors of Merge café. There are photos of the volunteers on duty on the wall of the café, so people know who to ask for support. Uwe describes some of the motel owners as precious as gold – those who have a social conscience and provide units for people experiencing homelessness even if there is a possibility that they will make a financial loss.
While we were eating and talking, Sam[1] told me how he struggled when he came out of jail as the motel he was put in was out of the CBD and the cost of transport into the city was prohibitive on the benefit he received. He came to the café and asked to speak with Julia, Merge Business Manager, who he says he was bonded with as he had met her at the Café and shared food with her. Merge is working with Sam to secure housing through Housing First. Sam said that Julia was authentic and genuine in working with him to get him the support he needed.
Julia says that the food at the Café is important as that is when the connection happens. The Merge Café team is planning fundraising dinners where you “Pay As You Feel” – see flyer for the Pride Dinner which was held last month to celebrate diversity and inclusiveness. Julia worked closely with the K’Road Business Association on this event.
Merge Café continues to play a crucial role supporting Auckland’s homeless whānau, breaking down societal barriers and offering a safe and supportive place where everyone is welcome and people can stay as long as they like.
So if you are in Auckland, pop in to Merge Café and celebrate Methodism by seeing our core values of diversity and inclusiveness in action, by the staff and volunteers that work there and as a bonus you can also eat some delicious kai.
Merge Café is open 7am – 2pm weekdays. Community lunches cost $5 and Pay It Forward lunch costs $8. Community Roast Lunch costs $7 and Pay in Forward Roast costs $10. Connect with someone over kai and create a more just society where all people flourish, just by being there and breaking bread with someone you have not met before. Everyone is welcome.
Carol Barron, Methodist Alliance National Coordinator
[1] Name changed
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