Loo turned into prison for visitor
goals.
She said it was unlike school in that there was no ‘pass or fail’.
‘‘They can keep trying until they get get it right, it’s not just one go and it’s a pass or fail; they can keep trying.’’
One of Mortimer’s students said the programme had helped her significantly. She urged others to come forward without any sense of shame.
Anyone who has left school is able to use the service.
‘‘We have some people who are quite a bit older come in because they want to read to their grandkids,’’ Mortimer said.
The programme is funded by the Tertiary Education Commission and gets various grants from other sources.
Mortimer emphasised that the free programme on offer was for those who genuinely needed help - it was not aimed at people who were already skilled at literacy. A woman making a quick pit stop in Cambridge last Thursday got a whole lot more than she bargained for.
She ended up being trapped for almost 20 minutes inside the vandalised Exeloo in the Cambridge New World carpark, and had to be rescued by council staff who had to use a spade to force open the door.
It seems vandals had repeatedly kicked the stainless steel door panel causing it to become stuck when closed.
A Waipa District Council spokesman said it was likely the damage had been done during the previous night, and said police had been advised.
It is apparently the first time this particular toilet had been vandalised but the council said public toilets in Waipa were a popular target for vandals.
Last year, more than $10,000 damage was done to a toilet in Te Awamutu.
In the last financial year, Waipa District Council spent more than $140,000 repairing damage caused by vandals.
The most common types involved deliberate damage to trees, shrubs and plants, road damage from cars doing wheelies, damage to signage and graffiti.
The Cambridge toilet has now been closed and will remain closed until at least the middle of this week.