Arapohue Healing & Recovery Centre
men moving mountains
Dear friends,
We are ploughing ahead in more ways than one at Arapohue Centre. God moves mountains in the lives of men, and the men move mountains in other ways - currently in the gym, veggie garden and the Schoolhouse restoration projects.
The work is unrelenting but so worthwhile. People are the treasure. We persevere to make this sanctuary a place where men can be restored.
We celebrate Jaime Ellison this month, who completed his recovery programme with flying colours and now joins Ray and Jan as a volunteer leader. Well done, Jaime, and thanks for all you bring to Arapohue Centre.
Stay blessed,
Ray, Jan, Gary, Jaime and the A-team at Arapohue Centre
Keep scrolling to see all the pics and stories!
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- click on small photos to enlarge
Welcome to the team, Jaime
Shoutout to Jaime Ellison, who has completed the Arapohue Centre healing and recovery programme and is over halfway through his Level 4 Mental Health & Addictions Certificate.
Jaime has now joined the leadership team at Arapohue Centre and taken on the role of a voluntary MHA support worker.
Jaime has a passion for helping men through their journey of recovery, body, soul, spirit and whanau. He understands the need to replace the negative life choices with positive ones, and the gym is a big part of that. See his story (and others) here.
The gym
Thanks to Jaime's vision for the gym and the Kaipara District Council for a generous grant to help purchase additional gym gear to complete the men's gym.
The guys are stoked!
Working out and caring for their body and rebuilding strength and fitness is a large part of their health journey in the te whare tapa wha Maori model of wellbeing (body: tinana, soul: hinengaro, spirit: wairua, whanau: family, whenua: land).
The veggie garden
Shoutout to Cindy Vida, the visionary for this veggie garden, and also to our recently departed dear friend Etha Taylor, who told us it just wasn't going to work without raised beds. Etha also gave us a massive supply of quality seedlings. She is sorely missed.
Shoutout to Caleb Salisbury who nailed the digger work, gifted mulch to get our compost started, and the banana trees for the perimeter windbreak. Thanks to Maurie and Jessie Brown for building the raised beds, Des Bickers for the garden water and Gavin & Kathryn Carey for donating 25 rolls of old silage to get the original beds going - Zephaniah and many more volunteers.
The early days pictured below starting with a bare paddock - no garden shed, water, drainage or compost. Creating garden beds which couldn't compete against the kikuyu. Etha was right.
Last week, the garden needed urgent drainage and metal work for access. Caleb and Brett Chandler from Tip N Go delivered the metal to make the raised beds accessible. We need to recoup the funds taken from the building fund. Can you help? We need $4,150 for 2 days of digger work, 33m³ of limestone and 22m³ of blue metal, which will see the access secured for the next decade.
First planning meeting with Cindy Vida, Marion, Vanya and Jan
First planning meeting with Cindy Vida, Marion, Vanya and Jan
First shed and compost bays (Jan backed into the shed and then it blew away)
First shed and compost bays (Jan backed into the shed and then it blew away)
Early days from a bare paddock. Shoutout to Angie Stevenson and others for the hard yards
Early days from a bare paddock. Shoutout to Angie Stevenson and others for the hard yards
Lovely raised beds but super boggy, just before latest drainage and metal work
Lovely raised beds but super boggy, just before latest drainage and metal work
New drainage and metal base so we can now walk without falling and doing mud angels
New drainage and metal base so we can now walk without falling and doing mud angels
Ray taking a well earned break. Well done team.
Ray taking a well earned break. Well done team.
The Schoolhouse project
We have a great need for another MHA Support Worker to work alongside Ray, Jan and Jaime. The Schoolhouse will accommodate this person and family. The exterior is completed; however, we have been bitten by the skyrocketing cost of building materials, which are still rising. Arapohue Centre helps the community and needs community input to finish it.
Would you consider donating to this important project so we can expand Arapohue Centre to take in more men whose lives have been broken by addiction and trauma?
(a) Plumbing: Funding needed to supply and install a water pump, a UV filter system, then plumbing to the new bathroom, kitchen and toilet, and stormwater drainage. Total $28,500.
(b) Electrical: Replace old switchboard, re-wire the whole house and new kitchen. Total $23,000.
(c) Ceiling and wall lining materials: New ceiling and insulation and wall lining materials. Total $6,500.
Schoolhouse rear BEFORE
Schoolhouse rear BEFORE
Exterior now almost completed
Exterior now almost completed
LifeKeepers Suicide Prevention Training for Maori
Ray and Jan completed the excellent LifeKeepers Mana Akiaki training to gain valuable tools to help people at their very lowest.
Your country needs you!
The harvest is ready and the workers are few. We need help! Do you know anyone who would like to volunteer a while... gardening (planting and weeding), cleaning inside the Schoolhouse before painting and much more... we have accommodation available if you need to stay overnight. Talk to Ray on 027 254 6778.
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Arapohue Centre needs: August 2026 |
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The needs below are important... can you help us? Every dollar counts. |
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$ 110 $ 500 $ 4,150 $ 6,500 $ 23,000 $ 28,500 |
Vet bill for dog injury Vehicle costs Garden drainage/metal S/house building materials S/house electrical work S/house plumbing work |
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$400,000 |
MORTGAGE: FULL REDEMPTION |
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Please send your tax-deductible donation to Email janet@thewildside.net to let me know so your tax receipt can be sent in April 2027. Many thanks! We received a donation from BA Fleming, but we don't know who this is. If you know their contact details, please tell us so we can thank them and send them a tax receipt. |
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Prayer needs:
• Protection, spiritual growth and healing of our guests
• For Ray, Jan, Gary and Jaime... and the WSCT board for protection, wisdom, strength
• Full redemption of the mortgage
If you would like to be a part of our online Arapohue Intercessors Telegram chat group, please download Telegram and send Ray a message asking to be added. His phone number is 027 254 6778, you'll have to add that to your contacts. Janet's is 027 318 6093.
A huge thanks to our partners for your support!
Arapohue Centre receives no government support. Your partnership means we can continue to work with people who are struggling. You play a VIP role in providing a place where people's lives can be restored by God. We can't do it without you. Kind regards and many thanks,
Ray & Jan Curle on behalf of Arapohue Centre & Wild Side Charitable Trust
574-580 Hoyle Rd, Arapohue 0374
Wild Side Charitable Trust Registration No. CC55065
p. 027 254 6778 | ray@thewildside.net | wildsidetrust.org
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