Young artists make a mark
A charity that funds low decile schools to visit Wellington Zoo, has funded Pomare School to illustrate a book written by Geraldine Brophy.
Dare2discover was established in 2013 after a group of women attended a seminar on child poverty in the Hutt Valley run by Save the Children.
Trustee Sue Avison said she was shocked to find out how poverty ‘‘shrinks’’ the world for children.
‘‘I was gobsmacked to think that some kids have not been three kilometres past their front door.’’
The business writer teamed up with Erin Cassidy, Joy McIntosh and Lesley Grant-Black to form dare2discover. One of their first projects was to fund Pomare pupils to visit the zoo.
‘‘The feedback from the children was that it was the best day they had ever had. You think that all kids have been to the zoo but they have not.’’
The experience made the the trustees think about other experiences the children could have. That led to them partnering with Pomare School to illustrate an environmental fairytale, Snow Bright and the Frozen Waste, written by Geraldine Brophy.
The story is set in Taita and its message is about the need to take care of our environment.
The idea for a book came from a theatre production of the same name written by Brophy. The play was staged in 2015 at the Little Theatre in Lower Hutt.
‘‘After seeing the show and the delight on the children’s faces, I had a chat with Geraldine and we decided that the story would make a great children’s book,’’ Avison said. ‘‘We also felt it was a wonderful opportunity to involve some students with the illustrations.’’ Pomare School principal Katrina Day liked the idea and the project took off from there.
‘‘For a little school, being part of this project has great mana,’’ Day said. ‘‘It fits our values of perseverance, responsibility, integrity, diversity and empathy.’’
Dr Hannah McKenzie Doornebosch tutored the students and helped them prepare the artwork.
Some funding is still required to complete the book, which they aim to translate into Te Reo. They hope to have it published in time for Christmas.