As Kaitaia prepares for the development of the old Pak’nSave building to be turned into an amazing Kaitaia Youth Centre, basic “housekeeping” of the exterior and surrounding area was needed. 

Organisers Shine on Kaitaia (youth driven initiative managed by He Whānau Mārama Trust) and Timebank Kaitaia enlisted the help of the community to complete a huge clean-up day as part of Keep NZ Beautiful week.  With over 50 volunteers of all ages, rubbish was collected, concrete was water blasted, gardens planted, and the exterior walls prepped for the installation of an exterior mural.  Shine on Kaitaia won the Keep NZ Beautiful Wall Worthy competition earlier this year and will be charged with designing and creating the mural which will grace the outside wall of the building.

The Kaitaia Youth Centre is a fantastic youth-led social enterprise set to help young people in Kaitaia realise their dreams - enabling them to meet, share their ideas for their future and put them into action, in large part due to PAK’nSave who granted a 50-year lease on the land and sold the building to the Kaitaia Youth Centre for a deal of $2.  The Youth Centre project has been spearheaded by Andy Cuckney, a local and international consultant who has made the Far North his home and who is working closely with several local community organisations like Shine on Kaitaia to bring the dream to fruition.