Speech
Challenge for Change Graduation Ceremony
May I begin by greeting everyone in the languages of the realm of New Zealand - English, Maori, Cook Island Maori, Niuean, Tokelauan and New Zealand Sign Language. Greetings, Kia Ora, Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Taloha Ni - and as it is afternoon....[sign]
May I specifically greet you: Ross Davis, Director of the Wellington Boys' and Girls' Institute; Tanya Dance, Chairperson; Jacinta Krefft, co-ordinator of the Challenge for Change programme; and Rod Baxter - who is responsible for training for mentors for the programme; Challenge for Change participants and your parents; Mentors; Ladies and Gentlemen.
It is with pleasure that my wife Susan and I are here following your invitation to attend the graduation ceremony for the Challenge for Change programme at the Wellington Boys' and Girls' Institute.
I would first like to also congratulate the Wellington Boys' and Girls' Institute on running this programme. This ceremony forms part of the organisation's 125th anniversary celebrations, and follows this morning's service at St John's in the City and a celebratory lunch.
The "BGI", as the organisation is more commonly known these days, has been an integral part of the Wellington community since 1883.
Its innovative programme which has jut been displayed is a fine example of how the organisation has adapted to meet the various needs of the Capital's young people and their families and whanau.
I would like to give my heartiest congratulations to those who are graduating today. I am told that you are the 15th 'mentoring generation' and the biggest group so far.
Those who have gone before you are proving the worth of the programme in their lives.
For example, I am advised that a girl from last year's group had been expelled from her school before undertaking the programme. Her goal was to return to study, but she had to convince a sceptical principal, that she would make a go of it. She has been as good as her word and is now, not only performing well academically, but also participating in sport, kapa haka and other school activities. She has also taken part in a singing competition that her mentor organised for her.
She has turned her life around and she has done it through this programme.
It is a great thing to be able to have someone to talk to about your ideas and goals, someone you trust, someone you know is on your side to help you make the best of the opportunities available and to avoid the mistakes that it is all too easy to make.
But to be able to work with a mentor, the 'mentee' has to 'front up.' In other words, they have to take up the challenge, formulate the goals, make the first steps and follow through.
I would like to congratulate the graduates for having made the commitment to the programme, and sticking with it.
I would also like to commend the mentors. This is a role that involves a high level of empathy as well as generosity, because you have to be able to place yourself into the position of those you are mentoring.
I am told that more than half of the mentors and 'mentees' still keep in contact with each other after five years. This is a credit to the calibre of the individuals involved and the quality of the relationships they form.
I would like to use as an example two mentors who cannot be with us today, Izaty Pawancheek and Nazira Che Mohd Nashir, who we earlier saw on the video presentation.
When these two young Malaysian women arrived here to study at university, they immediately went to Volunteering Wellington to offer their services to their new city. They liked the sound of the Challenge for Change programme and became mentors on it.
Sir Winston Churchill, who was British Prime Minister during much of the Second World War, once said: 'We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give'. These young women set out to make a life in Wellington during their time here, and they did that by giving something to young people in our community.
I would like to end by giving the graduates of this programme my best wishes for the future. You have been given a great opportunity to change your lives for the better.
The phrase that today's young people are tomorrow's leaders seems clichd but it underscores a fundamental truth. The words of a wonderful New Zealander, the late Dame Whina Cooper, capture this point about the responsibilities well. As quoted in the late Dr Michael King's biography Whina she said:
"I can't sleep at night, because even at night I'm worrying about things and planning things. It's the mana, you see. If you've got it, it never lets you alone. You have to be thinking about the people and working for them, all the time."
And on that heartening note, I will close in New Zealand's first language Maori, by offering everyone greetings and wishing you all good health and fortitude in your endeavours. No reira, tena koutou, tena koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tena koutou katoa.