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Koha Kai

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Koha Kai is creating a pathway to employment for people disadvantaged by disability, to enable true integration.

Southland

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WHO?

Koha Kai is a New Zealand Charity empowering people through removing barriers, allowing true integration - to "Encourage a Life of Purpose"

WHAT?

Koha Kai is creating a pathway to employment for people disadvantaged by disability, to enable true integration. Individuals who enrol in Koha Kai's Trainee Development Programme are gaining skills and experience in Hospitality and Horticulture, working towards gaining NZQA Qualification Units, ultimately leading to mainstream employment, and true integration.

HOW?

Our Lunches in Schools Programme is addressing child hunger and poverty, currently servicing four low-decile primary schools in Invercargill, cooking and serving over 1000 hot lunches per week - we even do pudding! Children can enjoy a delicious, fresh, nutritious lunch - for a Gold Coin Donation.

Our Gardens Programme (9 school and community gardens) are growing fresh produce to supply the school kitchens, to reduce costs. Trainees are learning Horticulture skills including: seed raising; worm farming; tunnel housing; composting; seasonal planning, planting, harvesting; orchard fruits; herb walls for schools - these are just some of the initiatives planned for 2016.

Koha Kai's dedicated team are ALL Volunteers. Everyone who participates does so because they believe in the project, they can see the difference that we are making to people's lives, on a daily basis. Koha Kai's vision is truly inspiring, we are changing society's attitude to disability, and providing a platform to allow true integration.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

By donating to this incredibly beneficial cause you will help us to continue to develop our programme, provide support to our volunteers and trainees, and ensure our school programmes can continue to make a real difference in our community.

Thank you for your consideration.

Here are some links to view recent media coverage we have had:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/70302032/Koha-Kai-makes-a-difference-in-community

http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/67446722/Home-cooked-meals-in-schools

http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/73123165/Invercargill-group-Koha-Kai-feeding-more-than-just-hungry-tummies

More about us

Koha Kai is a multi-faceted initiative providing multiple positive outcomes for disadvantaged, vulnerable and isolated people within our community.

Koha Kai has created a programme that empowers people with disabities to realise their true potential. Trainees are not only learning practical skills that can be transferred in to their own lives, they are also developing social and interpersonal skills, and improving their self-belief and confidence, as they work towards gaining mainstream employment, and ultimately true integration into the community.

Koha Kai is also addressing the issue of child hunger and poverty within the community, with the Lunches in Schools programme. For just a Gold Coin Donation this programme enables struggling families to provide nourishing meals for their children, which helps to removes socioeconomic barriers, allowing children to bond over a shared lunch. This in turn increases the children’s ability to function throughout the day, and improves their capacity for learning.

In order to help sustain the Lunch Programme, Koha Kai developed the Gardens Programme, a way to supply the school kitchens with locally grown produce, and to teach Horticulture to those for whom the kitchens hold no appeal. Koha Kai currently maintains nine gardens within the Invercargill community, both in schools and private residences. We encourage school involvement and have some fantastic ideas for 2016; fruit trees and herb walls for schools, worm farming and seed raising, to name a few.

Koha Kai’s vision for the future is to be able to offer our service to communities nationwide.

Thank you for taking an interest in our project, if you would like to follow our progress please like our Facebook page www.facebook.com/kohakai and you can view our monthly newsletters, photos, recipes and more.

Nga mihi nui,

The Koha Kai Team