Over the April school holidays, VOYCE Ōtautahi hosted various movement-based activities under the banner of He Tūhono Whakapakari Tinana – events to move the body! Designed to help tamariki and rangatahi build confidence through fun, active experiences, these events created space for physical challenge, whānau connection, and loads of fun.

Across the three days, we explored:

• Disc Golf in Parklands – Tamariki learned disc techniques and explored the local course together. 
• Clip ‘n Climb – An epic climbing experience that encouraged tamariki to test their limits in a fun and support each other. For many, it was their first time climbing!
• Bouldering at Uprising – A chance for rangatahi to take on a mental and physical challenge and support each other.
• Mega Air Trampolining – A high-energy, whānau-friendly session full of bouncing, flipping, jumping, and eating loads of pizza! Caregivers joined in the fun alongside tamariki, making it a whole-whānau experience.

Throughout the week, we saw tamariki pushing past their comfort zones and discovering new sides of themselves. For some, these activities were a complete first and most didn’t know each other at the beginning of the week. By the end heaps of friendships had been formed. 

Magic moments:

🌟 At our Disc Golf session, five tamariki met for the very first time. Just two days later, at our Mega Air trampolining day, they were sitting together laughing and playing like lifelong friends. It was a beautiful reminder of how quickly and naturally connection can form when the environment is right.

🌟 One caregiver from Ashburton booked a week’s accommodation in Waikuku during the school holidays so the two boys in her care wouldn’t miss a single day of our programme.

🌟 At Clip ‘n Climb, a young boy quietly shared with us that his birthday was the next day, and at our next event at Mega Air, we surprised him with a cake and a giant Easter egg hunt.

🌟 Midway through the first week of the school holidays, a couple of tamariki went home, printed off photos from the events, and returned with handmade thank-you drawings to gift our team sharing how seen and supported they felt.

🌟 Participant Voice – Caregiver Feedback
“Thank you, Tayla, Luke and your team, for organising all the wonderful activities for our kids last week. Holidays can be challenging when all young people want to do is go on screens, so it was great to have an alternative. You made it fun, high energy, friendly—and you fed us! 👍😊 Thanks to everyone involved for your hard work, great organisation and communication, and just accepting us as we came with our moods, meltdowns and (sometimes) misbehaviour. We hope you have had a good break and maybe we will see you again.”