Funding available for youth on d’Urville Island
Young people living on the isolated d’Urville Island in the Marlborough Sounds are eligible for a grant aimed at island communities.
The Small Communities Youth Grant Fund, worth $90,000 over three years, was announced earlier this month.
Youth Minister Nikki Kaye said the fund, which replaced the Youth in Isolated Communities Fund, was aimed at supporting young people to develop skills, knowledge and experience, and to contribute positively to their communities.
One-off funding of $2000 to $5000 was available for youth-led initiatives and activities, organised for or by people aged 12 to 24.
D’Urville Island resident Rebecca Forgan, who had three children aged between 8 and 12, said she thought the fund was a great idea. ‘‘I’d be hugely supportive of what children we do have on the island getting the chance to work together on a project.’’
The d’Urville Island community was working on predator eradication, so it would be good to see a youth project tie in with that, Forgan said.
There were between 45 and 50 people on the island, and only eight children.
Forgan said she was based on the opposite side of the island to the only other permanent family with children, about 90 minutes away.
It would be good for children to have the chance to get together and socialise, Forgan said.
It was ‘‘an amazing life’’ on the island, but it was good for children to interact with one another.
Fellow resident Helen Aplin, who had a 16-year-old daughter and three younger children, said the fund was a ‘‘brilliant idea’’.
Her daughter enjoyed drama and singing and some of the other locals had encouraged her to hold drama classes, Aplin said. She loved life on the island and was given the chance to board in Nelson, Greymouth or Blenheim but decided to stay on d’Urville and study by correspondence.
Kaye said young residents from some of these communities at a mainland boarding school would still be eligible.
‘‘It can sometimes be difficult for young people living in these communities to access the same opportunities as their peers on the mainland, and increasing the fund will facilitate further initiatives in areas such as leadership, mentoring and volunteering.