The Rod Benders fishing club was established earlier this year with the Trust, James and Kym, the New World owner-operators, along with Mark Paterson, facilitator at Te Ha o Matauranga — Learning in Kaikoura, which creates, promotes and encourages/learning opportunities in the town.
At the end of last year, James endorsed a grant application from Te Ha o Matauranga to the Trust./
The application secured $3620 of funding for the club to buy equipment.
James says they want to give back to the community in a meaningful way, so supporting the club to get up and running was a ‘‘no-brainer’’ and a good opportunity to give back and create a positive impact for young people in town.
Led by club president Keepa Timms, Rod Benders was formed just a few months ago and is already proving a popular pastime for its 21 members, all aged between 11 and 18.
Keepa, a grocery assistant at New World Kaikoura, says aside from learning how to fish, the club has helped many local rangatahi gain life-long skills, and become kaitiaki of their environment. Before becoming the club’s president, he was enrolled at Te Ha o Matauranga as an alternative education student. Under the tutelage of course facilitator Mark, Keepa and his classmates were taught the skills they would need to find employment, and connected to the outdoor extracurricular activities that resonated with them most. For Keepa, this was fishing.
Mark had taken Keepa fishing a few months before the club began. He hooked his first ever catch at a beach near his work, a rig that was big enough to feed his whole whanau.
‘‘It was an awesome feeling, being able to use a new skill, and also provide a few meals for my whanau,’’Keepa says.
He says it inspired him to start a fishing club, finding support from James and Mark.
The club meets every fortnight at the local community hall, where members are empowered to learn about the activities involved in running a club, as well as fishing techniques, how to run a meeting, fundraising, and they agree on the fishing spots they will visit next.
Te Ao Maori, the idea that everything is connected in some way, such as people and the environment, forms a big part of the way the club operates.
‘‘Our ethos as adults is to lead from behind,’’ Mark says.
‘‘We want to teach our rangatahi how to connect and care for the whenua as well as create and maintain good relationships.’’
‘‘So, if they’re fishing at the beach or river, they don’t just pick up their own rubbish, they also pick up the other rubbish that might have been left there by others, and if someone’s taken the time to teach them something about fishing, they’ll provide a koha for their time.’’
The positive impact of the support from Foodstuffs South Island Community Trust, New World Kaikoura, and the wider community, is already being felt.
‘‘The support we’ve received from the community to engage our rangatahi in this way has made a big impact on these amazing young people, and had an incredible benefit/to their wellbeing,’’ Mark says.
The club has also received support with gear from a range of local businesses and providers in the community, including Te Ha o Matauranga, ITM, and Okuma Fishing.
‘‘Kids from all walks of life are connecting and helping and supporting each other, and it’s having a big flow on effect on them, boosting their confidence and wellbeing.
‘‘These kids are blown away that people are seeing them and are interested in them.’’
‘‘Thanks to the local community, our rangatahi are being given the knowledge, techniques and resources to really experience the region, the great outdoors and the kaimoana (seafood) that’s put Kaikoura on the map,’’ Mark says.
Rod Benders is at full capacity and has become so popular that even others in the community, including adults, are asking to join and learn from members.
‘‘Having a sense of community and feeling engaged and connected is really important for our rangatahi, and we’re really pleased to have been involved in helping bring this about,’’ James says.
‘‘All the work that’s gone into setting up the club has been done by the community for the community, and we’re hoping to support more initiatives like this here in future.”
