Ōpōtiki young people will have the chance to take part in Project K, with the Graham Dingle Foundation programme set to begin in the town early next year.

The programme is designed to help young people build confidence, step outside their comfort zones and develop support around them.

Project K brings together year 10 students for outdoor adventures and community challenges before pairing them with a mentor for a year.

The same programme was started this year at Trident High School in Whakatāne, giving students the chance to take part in a 19-day Wilderness Challenge followed by a three-day community challenge.

The wilderness experience in the Coromandel included sea kayaking, bush walks, climbing and a trip to The Pinnacles.

Students then turned their attention to their local community, helping redo planter boxes and plant vegetables, cooking food at a marae and delivering it to whānau in need with Waiariki Whānau Mentoring.

The programme leader Talei Bryant said she had seen a noticeable change in the students after the wilderness experience.

“When I first met these kids, they were all quite quiet, shy. They came home and they were just full of energy,” Bryant said.

The Ōpōtiki programme will follow the same format, with students eventually moving into a year of mentoring.

Bryant said the mentoring is intended to help young people become more confident not only in their groups, but in themselves.

“That’s the whole point of the programme. It’s like they’re here and they’ve got the potential to be just more confident and out of their comfort zone and they just need the extra support,”

The programme is now calling for Ōpōtiki-based mentors to get involved for next year.

Anyone interested in becoming a mentor can email Talei Bryant at [email protected].