Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More

Gordon Campbell | Parliament TV | Parliament Today | News Video | Crime | Employers | Housing | Immigration | Legal | Local Govt. | Maori | Welfare | Unions | Youth | Search

 

Anti-bullying message a winner for prison youth

Monday 10 December 2018

An anti-bullying project has won a group of young prisoners from Hawkes Bay Regional Prison a national award, along with a host of accolades.

The group, who participated in the Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) project as Letz Lead, won the National Excellence Resilience award at the National YES Awards in Wellington on Thursday evening.

The award, sponsored by the Ministry of Youth Development, is given to a company who has successfully completed the YES programme in the face of barriers, difficulties and hardships not faced by the average company. They have also excelled in the academic tasks and successfully developed a product.

Speaking on behalf of the youth at the ceremony, Hawkes Bay Regional Prison Education Tutor Nic Scotland said, “Letz Lead is so proud of what they have achieved and how they have been able to give back to the community. We are incredibly proud of them and their national achievement.”

A tika tonu (Māori haka) was performed at the ceremony by senior managers Lawrence Ereatara and Hemi Heperi who work with the youth, and project supporter Nehe Milner-Skudder.

Residential Manager Lawrence Ereatara says, “The rangatahi started this as a YES project, but it became much more than that”.

“Bullying has a harmful effect on young people. These young men have shown great strength of character in wanting to do something about it.”

“They used their experiences of being bullied and being the bully to create meaningful messages of support for youth and school children in the community.”

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

For their YES project the team wrote and illustrated a booklet (“Can You Relate?”) with anti-bullying messages and supported it with a rap.

The booklet and rap uses kaupapa values and whakatauki to start conversations around feelings and emotions.

They also made yellow bracelets which have become a symbol of anti-bullying.

Hawke’s Bay Seniors rugby team the Magpies visited the young men and wore yellow bracelets in a recent match; other high profile rugby players have also sported yellow bracelets following a visit.

In prison they were supported by their Education Tutor Nic Scotland and by their YES tutor Colette Mintoff and Karla Lee, Hawke's Bay YES Regional Coordinator from Hawke’s Bay Chamber of Commerce.

Nic Scotland says, “They have a social conscience and decided their YES project would be about something that would benefit youth in their communities. They said ‘smiles are our profits’ because they weren’t concerned about making money from the project, they just wanted to help others.”

Letz Lead is already helping others: the Ministry of Education features their work as a resource for teachers and students on the Bullying Free NZ website. Profits from the sale of their booklet and rap go to Youthline and Kids Can.

Letz Lead also won the Resilience Award at the regional YES awards in Napier recently.

The youth will receive a 24 credit Young Enterprise Scheme micro-credential and 10 level 3 Business Studies credits for their years’ work. They also receive the $1,000 that comes with a National Excellence Award, which will enable them to continue with their anti-bullying campaign.

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines



Gordon Campbell: On Dune 2, And Images Of Islam


Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture tends to be hostile to Islam when we’re sitting in the dark, with popcorn.
Any number of movie examples come to mind, beginning with Rudolf Valentino’s role (over a century ago) as the romantic Arab hero in The Sheik...
More


 
 


Government: One-stop Shop Major Projects On The Fast Track

The Coalition Government’s new one-stop-shop fast track consenting regime for regional and national projects of significance will cut red tape and make it easier for New Zealand to build the infrastructure and major projects needed to get the country moving again... More

ALSO:


Government: GPS 2024: Over $20 Billion To Get Transport Back On Track
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has released the draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport, outlining the Coalition Government’s plan to build and maintain a transport system that enables people to get to where they need to go quickly and safely... More

ALSO:

Government: Humanitarian Support For Gaza & West Bank

Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More


Government: New High Court Judge Appointed

Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.