highlights from 2019

We are thrilled to be running Phenomenal Young Women due to the support of Auckland Foundation – We received funding through their Grassroots Giving Programme.

“Phenomenal Young Women was hard for me to lead at first because I had a small circle of friends and rarely branched out to meet new people and socialise. So I found it challenging telling a bunch of young women I have never met before about PYW and promoting it… but I ended up liking walking up to people from my school, seeing how their day was and asking them if they would be interested in this program. It became easier for me to walk up to girls and have a chat, it was fun!

Our first official day was the 18th of March. We did an ice breaker and got to know each other, ate some food and I asked the girls what activities they want to participate in and what skills they want to gain from this program. They wanted a movie night, game days, sports activities, girl glam, self defence and a lot more. In term 1 we just really got to know each other so it didn’t feel awkward at all when everyone came together. Our numbers were small to start with but reached up to 11 girls.

In term 2 we made Mother’s Day gifts and painted a cup for our female loved ones that we see as our mothers. We also handmade cute and loving cards, representing our love for our mothers. We tried something new and made a Philippino dessert together which everyone enjoyed. Our group also organised and created craft packs for children at Starship hospital. Our numbers ranged from 7 to 14 young women in attendance.

In term 3 PYW had 2 arts and craft days to great success where we created some cute and fun masterpieces. We had a movie night and we watched Suffragette, it’s about the leaders of the women’s vote in the United Kingdom. The Phenomenal Young Women said it was intense but they felt empowered and motivated by the stories about the strong, independent, life changing women ’cause it was raw and true.  We ended the term with our first self defence session out of 4. Our numbers ranged from 15 -20 young women attending per week.

In term 4 we finished off our self defence lessons and had a movie night. The Phenomenal Young Women loved it. We finished the year with a big picnic. Our numbers ranged from 7 – 15 young women per week.”

– Latisha, PYW leader 2019