Coast to Coast Rangers take disadvantaged youth on journey of growth

An Ōtautahi multi-sport programme is helping give under-privileged youth a sense of purpose and belonging in their community.

The Coast to Coast Rangers Programme, run through the Aspiring Youth Development Trust, was co-founded by Jessy Moffatt and her father, who was a multi-sport athlete himself.

The idea is to expose youth to outdoor activities so they can take part in the Kathmandu Coast to Coast but also help them acquire lifelong skills to lead better lives as adults.

Operations manager Jessy Moffatt, who says she grew up as a spoilt "ratbag" teenager, was inspired to start the initiative after having helped teenagers at the Bronx Psychiatric Centre in New York as an 18-year-old.

"It just felt so unfair and so wrong that other kids didn't have the same opportunities as I did and that just never sat right with me," Moffatt tells Afternoons.

"And I think now, I'm so passionate about trying to bridge gaps for young people and help them to have the same opportunities that I had."

A social worker helps them identify students in low decile Christchurch schools who could benefit from the programme.

"We're teaching them how to run, how to ride a bike, how to kayak - you'd be amazed at how many kids don't know how to ride a bike.

"So we're training them up to do the Coast to Coast [race] but to be honest, it's more about the journey than it is about the actual race, you know, it's about completing the Coast to Coast because it's a pretty epic race."

Although she admits they initially "don't really know what they're getting themselves into", they eventually get swept up in the spirit of achievement.

Last year was the first time she had someone drop out at the last minute, Moffatt says.

"Sometimes they might pull out like really early on in the programme, with other commitments or they're like 'oh no, that's too hard, that's not for me' and that's totally fine, there's plenty of other kids that are waiting to take their position so it works."

Moffatt says they make sure the youth are getting all the support they need to re-engage in school and sports, and once that happens the youth open up about their concerns and continue to flourish as they receive help.

One girl who started out as a support peer eventually went on to race, was nominated to be a head girl at her college, given a scholarship to university and offered to go on a trip to Antarctica, she says. And one of the boys was invited by Richie McCaw to do a race in Auckland.

"Those are all the sorts of fabulous rewards that we see from some of our young people who have competed in the race in some capacity.

"I think a lot teenagers nowadays are a little bit lost, they don't know who they are, they don't know how they fit in, they don't know their sense of identity so I feel like this programme just sort of helps them highlight and helps them connect, helps them engage in school, give back to the community."

It is hard work, she says, in particular the most frustrating part is the "unnecessary barriers".

"What I realised early on is it's really hard to help. And I'm a quite bossy, driven person so I try not to let policy, and politics and bureaucracy get in the way of doing the right thing and that took me quite some time to figure out how to do that."

She hopes for more funding to continue to expand on the opportunities they can give to youth.

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