There is a saying “It takes a village to raise a child”. The Team Xtreme volunteers know, understand and implement this concept to empower youth to help themselves. With more students, schools, seminars and workshops added to Team Xtreme’s calendar, youth in Palmerston North are receiving more nurturing than ever before.
Team Xtreme head into local schools in Palmerston North to teach 10-14 year olds preventative life skills to help them make good choices and start life on the right track. Through their programmes, Team Xtreme impacts not only the students they work with, but in turn their families and friends.
The mentors at Team Xtreme, of which there are eight, volunteer their time to build relationships with young people through a weekly/fortnightly programme at different schools in Palmerston North. Kiri Faiz, Manager of Team Xtreme Manawatu, says a large part of what they do involves role modelling and mentoring.
“We seek to become an integrated part of the schools we work in to ensure we get the most effective results,” says Kiri.
Whatever stage a student is at, the Team Xtreme mentors work with them to identify problems they may have. They then give the students tools and confidence to empower them to help themselves. The team address issues such as identity, relationships, goal setting, grief and addictions. They work with the students to show them team work, the power of the tongue, how to deal with peer pressure, uniqueness, self worth, decision making, friendships and self control.
Team Xtreme Palmerston North began in 1997 and in 2006 was recognised as an outstanding group and awarded the Supreme Award at the TrustPower Palmerston North Community Awards. At that time Team Xtreme were primarily mentoring students. Since then, the team has continued to grow, succeed, and add more programmes.
Team Xtreme run two eight week programmes - the Challenge Programme or the Te Amorangi Ki Mua Programme. The programme Team Xtreme uses in each school depends on the individual school and the students they are working with.
“In a typical session the young people are involved in a dynamic and energetic presentation. We use drama, story, music, personal experience, multi-media and other forms of youth-friendly communication to engage the students,” says Kiri.
At the end of the programme they have a whanau evening to pull parents together to discuss what the students have learnt and to reinforce the tools given to students to help them make the right choices. Throughout the course of the programme volunteers also run a parenting workshop to give parents helpful tips they can use for raising their children.
“Since this organisation began we have continued to grow, enter more schools and impact more young people’s lives in the Manawatu region. Thanks to lottery grants, church funding and help from schools we are able to offer students more programmes and build their confidence in many ways,” says Kiri.
One example of a student’s life being changed is a young girl at Ross Intermediate School. Her parents expressed many thanks to Team Xtreme after helping her make some good decisions.
“My daughter made a pact with her friends that they would loose their virginity by the age of 16 years. Since going through the team x module on relationships they have broken their pact and decided to wait.”
(Parent & Teacher, Term 2, Ross Intermediate)
Other positive feedback received includes:
“I found the parents session extremely rewarding. I’ve learnt an awful lot to help in the parenting of our children.”
(Parent, Fielding High)
“My son has become more confident and come out of his shell.”
(Parent, Roslyn School)
“It’s good to know that our children aren’t the only ones that need to change.”
(Parent, Roslyn School)
“We love working together with schools to help make a difference in the lives of young people. We have three people interested in joining Team Xtreme as volunteers at the moment, but we are always looking for new people and fresh ideas,” says Kiri.
The ability to help young people help themselves comes through significant time spent building relationships in one-to-one and small group mentoring situations. In the last 12 months the team has spent over 1,700 hours mentoring 84 young people.
In 2008 Team Xtreme worked in 17 schools with a record 1,197 young people from a massive 46 classes in high schools and intermediates around the Manawatu region. Through one-off events such as school camps and youth events in the city they have had the chance to interact and encourage approximately 2,200 young people. That’s a lot of children benefiting from Team Xtreme’s volunteer village!
For more information about Team Xtreme Manawatu please contact Kiri Faiz on 06 354 2929 or email teamxtreme@maxnet.co.nz. |
