Building Community, One Afternoon at a Time

Every Monday afternoon at Park Road Reserve in Western Heights, a marquee goes up, sports equipment is unpacked, and the barbecue is fired up.

Soon, dozens of tamariki arrive for basketball, volleyball, touch rugby, arts activities and other fun games before tucking into sausages and bread or barbecued meat patties.

For many, it is the highlight of their week. But Western Heights Community Association (WHCA) Manager Ana Phillips says ‘Kai in the Park’ was never intended to be just another after-school programme.

“One of the biggest challenges at the moment is access to food. A lot of kids are really hungry when they come up to the park or do any of our programmes.

“The whole point of Kai in the Park is to get to know the families and kids so we can then start to walk alongside them and support them with whatever other help they need.”

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More Than A Park

After restarting in 2025 following a four-year hiatus during COVID, the Western Heights Community Association spent months listening to the community it wanted to serve.

The charity now works across five Rotorua suburbs – Western Heights, Selwyn Heights, Pleasant Heights, Mangakakahi and Homedale – which are home to around 16,000 residents. Its needs assessment, surveys and consultation found many young people were missing out on sport and after-school activities because of cost, transport, lack of confidence or not knowing what was available. Almost 80% of Kāinga Ora households surveyed wanted programmes in local parks.

The research also reflected wider problems that Ana sees every day: poverty, housing instability, food insecurity, family violence, addiction and a transient community.

“There’s just huge need here. It’s a really large community and there’s no central hub. The hubs at the moment are the parks.

“The kids really love coming to Kai in the Park. We get up to 90 tamariki and whānau every week, even in the really cold weather.”

Kai in the Park runs weekly at Park Road Reserve, with activities also held at Aorangi Reserve when conditions allow. WHCA hopes to eventually operate across two or three parks throughout the year.

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Building Pathways

WHCA uses Kai in the Park to trial ideas and see what works. “We do a lot of piloting, and if something’s really successful, then we build on that. But we’re not afraid to change quickly if something’s not working.”

That approach led to a boxing programme last term. This term, a group of tamariki will begin a new programme called Mahi Kai, learning how to gather traditional food resources.

WHCA has also run the Kaitao Intermediate Sports Leadership Programme for the past two years and helps older rangatahi access specialist training by providing transport to early-morning training sessions and games.

“What we’ve seen in the sports leadership programmes is that the kids become really confident in themselves. They train with professional trainers, learn about leadership and resilience, and become more confident in public speaking.”

WHCA is also looking to start programmes for rangatahi who have disengaged from school or training, and plans to set up a Rangatahi Council in the near future so young people can help shape future activities.

“They become more invested if they have a voice, and they know what works for them,” Ana explains. “Every young person deserves the opportunity to lead and make a difference. This isn’t about adults creating another programme. It’s about giving rangatahi the opportunity to shape the future of Western Heights.”

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Looking Ahead

BayTrust has supported WHCA with several grants since it began rebuilding post-COVID. Ana says the latest $20,000 grant towards operational costs will help maintain that momentum.

“It’s a significant grant, so it helps us to keep Kai in the Park and our other programmes going. We really appreciate that BayTrust are continuing to support us.”

Her long-term vision is to build a permanent community hub where people can feel more connected to each other and access support, advice and services close to home.

Ana has worked with Rotorua charities for more than 20 years, including helping to develop Fordlands Community Centre into a thriving hub. She believes local services remove transport barriers and make it easier for families to find help and stability.

“I’ve seen the benefit of community hubs when I worked in Fordlands. Keeping things local means people can walk down the road to the park or hub and get the help they need.

“It’s quite a challenge, but I’m determined.”

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