A group of 36 Auckland primary pupils will be targeted by a new
charity aimed at helping children from disadvantaged backgrounds get
a tertiary education.
The group of year-four pupils at Wesley Primary School in Mt
Roskill will take part in a 10- to 15-year project to be launched by
businessman Scott Gilmour tomorrow.
As part of the project, called I Have a Dream, a full-time paid
co-ordinator will work with the children, organising after-school
activities and arranging mentors.
If the children end secondary school with entry into a tertiary
institution, the charity will pay for any outstanding financial help
they need for four years of study.
Mt Roskill senior constable Nick Tuitasi and Wesley deputy
principal Vasa Key are trustees of the charity.
Mr Gilmour said his funds covered the first set of pupils, and he
hoped others would sponsor future projects at Wesley or elsewhere.
"It would be great if somebody wanted to step up and adopt the
next class, because the need is great. We have about 120 decile one
primary schools around the country.""
Decile one is the lowest rating on an Education Ministry scale
used to determine resourcing, and indicates a school with a
significant number of disadvantaged children.
Mr Gilmour said Wesley was chosen due to an article he read about
the work Mr Tuitasi had done with troubled youngsters in the area.
He went to see Mr Tuitasi and was put in contact with Wesley
principal Brian Laing, who became a strong supporter of the project.
Mr Gilmour said the charity was based on the US model begun by
New York businessman Eugene Lang in 1981. Mr Lang promised
sixth-graders at his former East Harlem school a college education
if they finished high school.
Since then, the idea had spread in the US, with 13,500 children
having benefited from 180 projects.
- NZPA
