One hundred years of helping vulnerable children and their families to stand up and be strong in the face of adverse childhood experiences, is a huge milestone.
Celebrating the centenary of Stand Children’s Services at the Children’s Village at Half Moon Bay were members of local service organisations including Freemasons, Probus, Rotary and Zonta who have supported Stand over the years
Over 10 decades Stand, formerly known as the Children’s Health Camp, has transformed lives of children from 7-11 who are at significant risk of harm as a consequence of the environment in which they are being raised.
Pene Frost, regional manager Pou Toko who has been with the charity for over 40 years, is an institution in her own right. She expressed her gratitude to therapeutic staff, cooks, leadership team, volunteers, coaches and tireless doctors on the occasion.
“It is 100 years of collective service to the community and I’d like to thank everyone for their kindness,” she said.
“One hundred years ago in Turakina, in the middle of a farmer’s paddock, under the shelter of army tents, 55 children experienced the very first Children’s Health Camp. It was not until 1937 that the move was made to establish permanent camps across New Zealand,” she said.
The current facility was built in 2004 from the profits of the sale of 17 acres of land that was occupied by the old Health Camp.
“Many of you will remember the penny for post, penny for health through the sale of health stamps. Unfortunately, letter writing is a past art and we no longer receive funds though post.”
Talking to the Times, Pene looked back at the time when children were at the health camp mainly due to health reasons – asthma, bad eyesight, diabetes, scabies or hair lice.
“But now they are here due to trauma caused by emotional, physical or sexual abuse,” she said.
“Children come from harmful relationships and there is a big impact of drugs, violence and disruption to family life. Sometimes a child has been witness to the dad banging the mum’s head against a wall and there are memories that won’t go away. They’ve seen their sibling end their life and it’s important to make them understand that it is not their fault. Children are emotionally, mentally and sexually scarred and it takes a much longer time to heal,” she observed.
“Sadly, children are not children anymore as there is so much pornography and violence in the media and the ability to access violence in the name of entertainment.
At Stand they not only work with children but also with families. Stand also runs the grief and loss programme called Seasons for grown-ups.
“We do parenting since the child will go back to the same family environment and sometimes parents have their own trauma history that they carry into their parenting,” pointed out Pene.
“Right from the first moment they engage with our social workers, they are treated with kindness. Children are in a safe space and we teach them how to make safe choices.
“Most children are there for a span of five weeks and then ready to make a transition. Sometimes it may take up to two years to make a difference but the stay at the village is not at one stretch. They can come back after a while.
“Our children are our treasures, and at the end of the day if our relationship has made a difference in their lives, we have all achieved greatness.”
