A group of young men impacted by the March 15 Christchurch terror attack have been treated to an adventure holiday up north, including zorbing, luging and a day out at Rainbow's End.
The group of 20 teens, aged between 12 and 18, were either worshipping at the Christchurch mosques when they were attacked, or lost family and friends in the shooting.
Earlier this month they enjoyed an adventure holiday in Auckland, Rotorua and Taupō, organised by Christchurch Police, Muslim youth workers and police charity Blue Light.
The boys played mini-golf in Auckland before being hosted by the south Auckland Mosque Masjid Al Mustafa. They visited SkyCity then headed to Rotorua and Taupō, where they went zorbing, luging, visited the Tāmaki Māori Village, whitewater rafting, mountain biking and jet boating.
The trip ended in Auckland with a day out at Rainbow's End theme park and a visit to the Counties Manukau police hub.
"Many of the boys have never been out of Christchurch and we wanted to give them a fun week away in the North Island, creating new, positive memories," says Const Bruce Ward, who was behind the trip.
"This trip was a chance to build relationships with police and for us to give something special back. It was also a real opportunity for the police staff to understand the richness of Muslim culture."
Youth worker Hesham Jones, from Nawawi Centre in Christchurch, says "it wasn't long before we saw them all as friends first before police officers."
"These boys have shown tremendous resilience and I have never seen them so excited when they were preparing for this trip. The amount of engagement we had with the boys during the camp was priceless.
"I genuinely believe that we will look back on this experience as a major milestone in the recovery of our community."
