"We have one little girl who is so eager to come to school, her parents say that she sleeps in her uniform so that she’s ready the next day. She comes without breakfast. You can see she’s hungry - she’s extremely eager to eat the lunch we serve her – and your heart goes out to her. I think KidsCan support would mean the world to her. Breakfast would fill her belly, give her the fuel and the energy that she needs for the day, clothe her, she’d be warm. It would make a huge difference."
This is a story shared by a school waiting for KidsCan support. It’s a striking example of just how much kids want to learn – and the barriers in the way for those in poverty.
The waiting list this little girl joins is the longest in our 19-year history. More than 10,000 children in 260 schools and early childhood centres need food, shoes, jackets and health products. They shouldn’t have to wait for the basics. In a perfect world, their families would end each week with money to spare - but the cost-of-living crisis means an increasing number have nothing.
Vulnerable children are bearing the brunt. A social worker described visiting homes to find up to 30 people living together, or multiple tents on the lawn. Families couldn't afford hot water or warm clothes. There were queues out the door at food banks. “That’s what our students are living amongst. I’m worried about their mental health. It’s almost like a third world country,” she told KidsCan.
The poverty line is shifting. Half of the 98 schools on KidsCan’s waiting list were decile five and above -where principals say they are not resourced to cope with increasing hardship. 56 of those schools don’t qualify for the government’s Ka Ora, Ka Ako lunch scheme. Teachers were op-shopping for clothes and delivering food parcels and even firewood to struggling families.
“I had a conversation yesterday with a mum who was in tears, saying, ‘I just can't pay for more uniform for my child. The money is not stretching far enough anymore,’” a principal reported. “It was really heartbreaking, and it was a family who wouldn’t have been on my radar.”
Those waiting include a primary school on Waiheke Island, where behind the grand holiday homes, locals are struggling; a rural Waikato school where a third of the 150 children are transient; and an Auckland school whose roll has changed with housing intensification. “The families coming in are really battling,” its principal says.
Schools in middle-income areas say poverty can be harder to see as both children and their families try to hide it out of shame. They say being able to offer food from KidsCan – breakfast items, snacks for classrooms, hot meals for schools that don’t get government lunches – would make a huge difference.
“There are some kids who consistently don't have lunch, but they'll try and pretend that they've got it,” a principal told us. “They’ll play it down, “Oh I ate all my lunch at morning tea!” “Are you hungry, though?” “Yeah, a little bit.” And then they are hungry. And they probably didn’t have anything at morning tea, either."
Teachers can also tell more families are struggling by looking at children’s uniforms – or lack of them. Shoes that have worn out aren’t being replaced, and more students turn up in only t-shirts in freezing conditions.
“Come the end of winter, there's so much electrical and duct tape holding out kids’ shoes together. Their parents can’t afford a new pair. Most of our kids walk to school, so when it’s raining their feet get wet. Others are still wearing their sandals in winter,” one teacher said.
“It’s FREEZING here, and this morning I found a student sitting behind a classroom block wearing a thin short-sleeved polo shirt and a pair of shorts, with just a pair of jandals on his feet,” a social worker told us. “He said his mum couldn’t afford shoes or a jersey. He’s missing the very basics, and I’m worried about his mental health."
At KidsCan, we’re in the awful position of hearing these stories and being unable to help schools immediately, because we don’t have enough funding. Like all charities, our donations have been hard-hit as our regular givers grapple with the cost-of-living crisis themselves. We already support 1100 schools and early childhood centres – and we can’t expand.
But kids can’t wait. Every day they don’t have the basics, it means they can’t focus in class, and they fall behind. Some don’t make it to school at all. Their pathway out of poverty is education – they just need help to walk it. So today we launch an urgent appeal to reach them backed by our amazing Principal Partner Meridian.
We know our support makes a difference. Our partner schools and early childhood centres tell us that children are now fuelled for learning. Warm jackets and good shoes lead to few absences over winter and mean children can take part in school activities.
“Full bellies and warm jackets mean they can learn without feeling anxious, inadequate or embarrassed.”
“I had one student tell me he was so happy to have new shoes as his feet were tired.”
“The impact on our students is invaluable. So many have very little until they arrive at school.”
The little things can have a significant impact. So, if you’re able to, please consider being the difference to a child in hardship. A waiting list of 10,000 children is overwhelming – but helping every child starts with helping just one
Please donate $30 a month, or what you can afford at www.kidscan.org.nz
