Students at Mana College, a low socio-economic school in Porirua have raised $150,000 for a trip to Europe and hope to raise another $40k by December this year.
The group of 21 students plan to travel to Singapore, Denmark, Germany, France and Italy as part of their German class.
The students have been fundraising since September 2023 through sausage sizzles, raffles, bake sales, holding discos, quiz nights and comedy nights.
Some have started their own businesses weeding, dog walking, painting houses and fences and odd jobs. Students have gone to the effort of travelling to Wellington via train to clean stadiums after concerts and sports games to do clean ups, sometimes returning home at 2am.
The students had to meet individual fundraising targets to contribute towards flights and they combined forces for the rest.
“I think there was times where we thought it wasn’t going to happen because we kept pushing the date back,” said one of the students, Jayden, “but once we started fundraising more and got the money up, I think it came to life more.”
In fundraising every weekend since December, students said they’ve learned teamwork, practical life skills and entrepreneurial skills.
Hine Funaki, māmā of student Blade Funaki (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Whātua, Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, and Ngāti Raukawa) told Te Ao Māori News some of the students and teachers are getting fundraiser fatigue.
As parents, she said they help with the group fundraising, drop-offs, pick-ups on top of other life responsibilities.
“Students see teachers every day at school and now again in weekends, which can get a bit much. Then winter illnesses come and quite a few aren’t here because they are mauiui. So I think it’s taking its toll. That’s what’s been pushing the deadline.”
In richer areas, wealthy parents may be able to pay for their children directly but the students at Mana College, their parents, and community have had to work incredibly hard to raise the funds. Usually, Mana College sources sponsorships through Pelorus Trust or other avenues but they can’t access these funds to travel outside New Zealand and have had to rely on fundraising.
Funaki also said that for some students this trip had incentivised them “to just even come to school and engage”.
The students have signed an agreement that to go on the trip they must pass their NCEA, have an attendance of 93% and have decent engagement scores (which measure focus and how well students do in class).
Angela Kururangi, māmā of student Leahcim Ngatai-Wereta (Ngāti Porou Ngāti Tuwharetoa, Ngāti Raukawa) said throughout the fundraising campaign, her son had realised how hard it had been on himself, his friends, the parents and the teachers. “But he is really proud of himself in terms of how much mahi he has been capable of doing on top of college.”
At first Ngatai-Wereta started helping with fundraisers without being included in the trip but his efforts secured him a place in the group.
“He has encountered a lot of tall poppy syndrome throughout the fundraising campaign but has learned for himself this isn’t ‘just a trip away’. It’s an experience of a lifetime, becoming fully immersed in another culture, something that he has never experienced before. For us as a whānau it feels so good to be a part of something positive and enriching for once.”
“I just want to say thank you to the community that has been supporting us, you know, all the fundraisers and the raffles and stuff, you know, supporting us.” Ngatai-Wereta said.
The group has until December to raise the rest of the funds and to help, people can donate here.