Wed, 5 Feb 2025
Step inside New Beginnings Preschool in Linwood, Christchurch, and you’ll be embraced. Little Gian will take you on a hunt for red paint so he can swirl his fingers in it. Joshy will show you his choice of nail colour as a teacher paints his nails. Fala and Ruby will show you their favourite hiding place, where they can both squeeze into a barrel.
WELCOME TO NEW BEGINNINGS
The children are beautiful. I think they are so vulnerable and just genuinely themselves at this age. It's nice to know that you can make a huge difference by just supporting them to be who they are, really. It's special that they hold you so highly in their little hearts.
This is one of more than 200 early childhood centres supported by KidsCan, meaning every child receives morning tea, a fresh lunch, a jacket, shoes and socks, and the all-important gummies.
It’s kid heaven, a vast sensory space with a sandpit, swings, playhouse, balance bikes and even a mud kitchen (recipes for mud soup and mud muffins are on display.) And it’s an extra special place for these children, many of whom live in hardship.
ON THE MENU
When we arrive it’s morning tea time, and the kids are sitting quietly at a table munching on bananas and oranges. Mum Gemma is in the kitchen today - the parents take turns to volunteer to cook. Staff pick from a selection of recipes, and the ingredients are delivered fresh each week. Today it’s pasta with pumpkin, spinach and cheese, accompanied by bowls of tuna and mixed veggies.
At lunch time, teacher Olivia Brook lights a candle and the children place their palms together as they sing a karakia blessing the food. Joshy blows it out before serving himself a large bowl of pasta with a side of tuna on his placemat. He pats it down and proceeds to demolish the lot.
Early childhood is when the brain is mostly forming, so to know that they're having a nutritional diet is huge. To know that if they go home and have sandwiches for dinner, they've already had all the nutrients they need here. Before KidsCan, if parents couldn't afford to put food in their lunch boxes, the children used to stay home. Now they're coming to a warm, fun environment. They arrive in a warm jacket and their shoes, and the food they need is here. That's absolutely amazing. And the parents are very, very grateful for that.
WRAPPING FAMILIES IN SUPPORT.
The centre doesn’t just support children - it helps their families too. One day a week, Olivia’s time is dedicated to helping them access welfare, food and clothing. The entranceway to the centre is lined with boxes of vegetables and beautifully-knitted cardigans so families can help themselves.
I think it's so fundamental for our families to know that they are worthy. To get what they need without having to ask. They want the best for their children, but they just don't have the money to meet those in needs, and there's barriers in the way that makes their life harder than other people's. We're just trying to make it easier for them.
Increasingly, schools and early childhood centres are the places families are turning to for support as life becomes unaffordable.
Our programmes are making a significant difference, and we can’t deliver them without you.
Click here to make a donation.
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