WHEN KIDS CAN’T EVEN ACCESS SOAP

Children are sleeping rough and schools are helping them wash, says KidsCan’s Karleen Edmonds.

For many parents, the morning routine involves dragging slumbering teenagers from their beds, and coercing them out the door to school.

They are the lucky ones. In one part of Northland, the struggle is very different.

There, some teenagers are waking up in cars, shaking with cold, limbs aching from the cramped space, tummies growling with hunger. Remarkably, they get up and they go to school. Because, despite everything, they want to learn.

This is just one of many heartbreaking stories I hear in my role as KidsCan’s schools coordinator.

This particular school principal called to ask for help. KidsCan already provides them with shoes, raincoats and food - basics children need to get to school ready to learn - but he had a special request. Could we provide soap?

I wondered what was going on. I found a school doing much more than just teaching. The principal is doing his best to support around 20 students homeless or living in houses with no hot water or power. They were arriving at school having not showered for days on end.

The school now has a roster for its showers so they can wash. We helped by donating shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste - items most of us take for granted.

I wish this was an isolated example. I stopped in Kawakawa for no more than 15 minutes. In that time, I saw seven cars full to the brim with the family’s ‘lives’ in them. Locals told me that is very much the norm these days.

The campgrounds are full of others living out the winter in tents. For those with a roof over their heads, there could be 20 people crammed into a threebedroom house. For the kids, the result is broken sleep, poor personal hygiene and hunger.

These are scenes so foreign to many New Zealanders that the extent of the problem can be hard to grasp. I’ve learnt that the need is endless, the causes are complex and there are no quick fixes. I’ve learnt not to judge parents - they are doing their best in situations most of us would struggle to cope with.

But I’m lucky - because my job* means I can make a difference. It’s the best job in the world. I see firsthand the impact KidsCan has when partnered with a school. I see kids’ faces when they open a box of new shoes - often the first time they’ve had a pair just for them.

I hear about the difference a full tummy makes in kids’ ability to focus. Without KidsCan’s help, the teachers are the ones reaching into their own pockets to buy food for children.

The principals are heroes holding communities together. I’ve met a principal who is in at 6am every day, helping make breakfast for the kids; a principal who always leaves late because, for some kids, school is their safe place and they are there long after the last bell goes.

I get emails from principals like that at 11pm, sorting supplies for their students.

Then there are the kids. I hear what they go through on a daily basis and think a lot of adults wouldn’t be able to cope as well. The majority always has smiles on their faces - they are positive, resilient and amazingly talented.

I actually find this quite hard. It is only we looking in from the outside who understand what difficult situations these children are in.

They don’t know they may not have the opportunities that others take for granted – and I’m proud to be one of the people trying to give them a better future.

* Karleen Edmonds is programmes manager for KidsCan, tending the needs of the 718 schools the charity supports nationwide.

Playing your part to help these children costs as little as $20 a month. Your donation will help a child in so many ways. You will be providing material items such as shoes and socks, food, raincoats, health and hygiene items, as well as the less tangible benefits of KidsCan support: increased self-esteem, confidence and a sense of belonging and pride.