Levi Armstrong has spent more than a decade working at grassroots level in Hawke’s Bay, supporting rangatahi at risk and connecting them with opportunities for a better future through fitness.
Over the weekend, his charity, The Meke Foundation, launched a new initiative in collaboration with CityFitness - fitness pods made from shipping containers offering free outdoor exercise programmes to address fitness inequity.
“The whole whakaaro behind the pods was creating a space that was affordable and accessible for whānau and communities,” says Armstrong, of Ngāti Kahungunu.
“I’ve seen a lot of whānau, a lot of gang whānau especially, wanting to get fit, get active and get healthy. There’s a bit of a shift in mindset now that as we get older, we’ve got to start looking after our tīnana.”
The new pods in Camberley and Flaxmere will deliver the foundation’s free Patu group exercise sessions, supporting their work with rangatahi who have disengaged from school or are considered at risk of offending.
“Our youngest rangatahi that we’re working with at the moment is 12. So, these are kids that haven’t been in school since they were eight years old,” says Armstrong.
“Our rangatahi are turning up every day. They’re in a routine.”
The free classes are run three times a day, five days a week and open for people of all ages. Classes have catered to up to 60 people at a time, with tamariki as young as six to kaumātua in their seventies.
“It’s been really cool to see multiple generations coming in. A whānau that trains together, stays together,” says Levi.
Each pod contains exercise equipment that can be taken outside for circuit classes, including kettlebells, medicine balls, boxing gloves and boxing bags.
“We utilise the whenua to facilitate these trainings,” says Armstrong.
“The pods are close to public toilets, close to a playground so tamariki can play while mum and dad are having a train.”
The Meke Foundation, founded by Armstrong and his wife Dana, had already installed one pod in Marine Parade, Napier, which has proved to be a major success. The two new pods, costing $65,000 each, have been funded by City Fitness.
“Now with the opportunity to scale out with the support of CityFitness, it’s just taken us to a whole other level,” says Armstrong.
CityFitness spokesperson Gertrude Tevita says the partnership reflects a growing opportunity to use young people’s interest in fitness to achieve wider social outcomes.
“We are seeing increasing numbers of young people wanting to exercise and that creates an opportunity to reach rangatahi at a stage where positive influences can make a real difference,” says Tevita.
The Meke Foundation also employs trainers to run the classes.
“The biggest cost barrier for trainers is facilities or having to hire out space. These trainers don’t have to hire out anything.”
Last year the foundation’s Meke Academy received $1.5 million over three years from the Government’s Proceeds of Crime Fund. The fund is made up of the money forfeited to the Crown under the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009 to reduce offending and drug use while helping rangatahi gain qualifications.
“In Hawke’s Bay, I believe we’re one of the top three in youth offending so for us to provide a service and an opportunity for rangatahi that may not fit into a circle, your normal hole, is providing alternative options for them to participate and still get the education, the health, the wellbeing at a young age.”
Armstrong sees the pods as a “hīnaki” to connect rangatahi with different people, exposing them to opportunities they may not otherwise encounter.
“We’ve got a really strong relationship with Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT) here in Hawke’s Bay where we transition a lot of our rangatahi, a lot of our whānau, into study and getting them work ready.”
Plans are already in place for another pod to be installed in Maraenui.
“In Maraenui, we’re working with a lot of our whānau, Māori, Pasifika, low socioeconomic community. And since the [Napier] pod has been here, it’s made a real impact,” says Armstrong.
“If we can reach a rangatahi through fitness and that leads to them re-engaging with education, getting a qualification or choosing a different direction in life, that is where the real impact is. We would love to be able to offer this programme throughout the country,” says Armstrong.
The foundation has already received expressions of interest from around 25 communities, including marae, from across Aotearoa.
