One Man's Dream Touches Many Lives

I reckon the wonderful thing about the internet is the endless surprises – interesting websites and inspiring stories. At any time a new line of enquiry can lead to a rich vein of information.

This happened for me today. I’ve been having a spring clean in my office (long overdue) and came across a business card from Catriona MacLennan a lawyer and author working in South Auckland. About 3 months ago I’d listened to Catriona speak about how disadvantaged and disempowered many of her clients were. She challenged us to think about getting more involved with those less fortunate than ourselves.

She made two suggestions, firstly to consider adopting a family (anonymously) for Christmas. Apparently this can be done through the Salvation Army. They provide the name and ages of children in a family. We buy the gifts for these children and the Salvation Army delivers them. This can be a great project to do as a family.

Secondly, Catriona spoke about I Have a Dream. Today I finally followed that up by visiting their website – www.ihaveadream.org.nz and I was very impressed with what I found.

The I Have a Dream® Projects motivate and empower children from low-income communities to reach their education and career goals by providing a long-term programme of mentoring, tutoring and enrichment, along with tuition assistance for higher education.

Each project selects one entire Year Level from a Primary School (30 – 60 children), not just the talented kids or the troubled kids. They work with that same group of children from early Primary School right through to Tertiary study, i.e., for 10 to 15 years.
By taking a personal interest in the lives of students and their families, providing educational opportunities, recreational programmes, social support and financial resources that they might otherwise be denied, they combat the high school drop-out rate.

What a stunning programme!

 I Have a Dream® was Born 27 Years Ago

This programme was begun in the US in 1981 by Gene Lang. He returned to his elementary school to give a graduation speech. When he was told that three-quarters of the school's students would probably never finish high school, Lang decided to make an extraordinary impromptu change to his speech. He promised university tuition to every sixth grader who stayed in high school and graduated.

Gene Lang told the class about hearing Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" speech. He urged the students to dream their own dreams, and promised to do all he could to help them achieve their goals. He went on to personally support and fund this group of young people through their education.

Nearly 180 projects have been created from this man’s inspiration, helping over 1400 'dreamers' achieve their educational dreams.

Scott and Mary Gilmour bought this idea to New Zealand. In 2003, the first I Have a Dream® project outside of the USA started up at Wesley Primary School in Mt Roskill, a suburb of Auckland when Scott Gilmour adopted a Year Four class. Most of the children are Pasifika or Maori and a few are North African refugees. English is a second language for more than two-thirds of the group..

This video gives a taste of just what this generous support means for these families.



Many people are involved in helping to tranform the lives of these 'dreamers' - giving the gift of time, encouragement and ongoing interest by becoming a mentor.

To find out more visit the I Have a Dream® website: www.ihaveadream.org.nz

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