FLYING UNDER the RADAR

‘Flying under the radar’ means to remain inconspicuous.
In today’s blog story, maybe it’s time to ‘spread the word’ and highlight a wonderful but relatively unknown initiative in New Zealand’s biggest city. 
Tom Rose, a journalist at the NZ Herald wrote an article on the 20th May titled, ‘Auckland students undergo ‘Champions for Compassion’ workshop to learn the power of empathy’. I read the article and smiled. 
Glenfield Intermediate students recently took part in workshops on compassion, resilience and empathy. ie. practical tools for kindness. I can’t recall having any such lessons when I was a student in Auckland many years ago… 
Chefs for Compassion who organise the workshops is led by a Birkenhead local Marty Smith. Marty said, “I thought about what I truly wanted my kids to learn - not just how to pass tests, but how to be decent, grounded people.” Music to my ears! The one day workshops are run by Auckland University’s Dr Selina Tusitala Marsh, a distinguished Pacifika poet who was the New Zealand poet Laureate form 2017 to 2019. 
One of the participants, Vayuu, aged 12 told the Herald that it was crucial for kids to learn how to be compassionate because it applies to all aspects of one’s life. Want to know more? You could contact Glenfield Intermediate or go on to the Chefs for Compassion website or Facebook page. Wouldn’t it be exciting to see this initiative go to a wider audience and not just ‘fly under the radar’.


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