A day of rides and rewards
Big bottle: Tutere Waenga, Kingdom Collins-Huriwaka, Skye Waipouri-Tamati, Sonny Collier, Tipene Kenworthy, Poutini Te Rangi, Wārenarangi Moana, Denahi Turnbull and Inia Ligavatu pose in front of the giant L&P bottle in Paeroa. Photos supplied
Aston Palmer
Blue Light National took children from communities around the country to Rainbow’s End in September for a day of fun and positive experiences.
The Ōpōtiki Blue Light branch took about 19 children to Auckland for the annual event, travelling in two vans with four teachers from Ōpōtiki Primary School and Ōpōtiki College to help supervise them.
The children from Ōpōtiki Primary were aged from 7 to 11 years old and there were also young teens aged 13 to 15 from Ōpōtiki college.
The event is run by Blue Light National each year and aims to build positive relationships between police and young people.
Ōpōtiki Blue Light officer Constable Whare Wikeepa said the trip was a good opportunity for young people to have positive experiences with police.
The group left Ōpōtiki at about 6am and arrived at Rainbow’s End around 9.30am, spending about six hours at the theme park before leaving just after 4pm.
The children were able to enjoy the park in their own groups, with the younger children splitting off into pairs while the older group stayed together to go on rides.
Wikeepa said the feedback from the children was positive, with many saying they had a lot of fun and had a “coolest day ever”.
For some of the children, the trip was also a chance to travel further than they had before.
Wikeepa said a few of the children had never travelled as far as Paeroa, making the trip to Auckland a new experience in itself.
Blue Light branches from around New Zealand attended the event, including groups from Edgecumbe, Matatā and Kawerau.
For Wikeepa, one of the biggest benefits of Blue Light was the opportunity to strengthen relationships between police and young people.
He said events like the Rainbow’s End trip could also be used to reward good behaviour and encourage young people to stay on the right track.
Wikeepa said he had seen young people who had come to police attention for offending turn their behaviour around after being given positive experiences and something to work towards.
He said being able to take young people from different backgrounds and give them opportunities they might otherwise not have was one of the most rewarding parts of being involved with Blue Light.
