Answers

Tides is a registered charitable trust that has been contributing to the lives of many young women (and through them the families and communities they are part of) since 2004. We run contemporary rites of passage programs for 13 – 16 year old girls and their mothers – using outdoor experience, creative exploration (visual art and theatre), personal development tools, conscious mentoring and ritual we aim to support, celebrate and empower young women through the transition of puberty into adulthood.

We believe that conscious rites of passage for young people can contribute to healthy transitions into adulthood. Assisting in self-development and fostering a sense of belonging, adolescents and adults become part of community life rather than persons alone, lacking support, sanction and purpose. We aim to support the key developmental tasks of belonging and identity along with a sense of connection with self and nature.

Camping for 4 nights and 5 days on the edge of the Able Tasman National Park our program includes outdoor adventure experiences that can be challenging for some, providing a sufficient degree of difficulty in order to overcome barriers. We provide creative modalities for exploring self and other such as, nature art, mask making, theatre sports and song. Mini-solo experiences are balanced with group work and games and sharing circles balance with “casual” opportunities to encourage young women to tell their own stories and hear growth experiences of others. Positive role modeling and mentoring from adult women is also a big part of what Tides offers.

The first Tides program was run in April 2004. Since then approximately 100 young women have attended our rites of passage events some of who have returned several times and gone on to take part in our trainings for women.

We run trainings twice a year for women who are interested in becoming part of the Tides team or have an interest in youth rites of passage elsewhere. We incorporate the national youth workers code of ethics and are concerned that rites of passage be safe and well held and are committed to assisting this to occur. We willingly offer and share the story of Tides journey, resources we have gathered around programs and rituals, access to our trainings and participation in our events as a model.
Tides is also supported by and in support of similar work being done in Australia and America and has close links with Tracks Trust which has been running outdoor rites of passage events for young men since 2000.

Tides management team and trustees are based in Golden bay. Those women that participate in and help run Tides rites of passage events range in age from 18 – 60+ years, are diverse in skills and experience and come from all over New Zealand including Nelson, Wellington, Hawkes Bay, Christchurch and Auckland. Tides initially operated under the Tui Spiritual and educational Trust, which has actively lived and promoted intentional community, sustainable land use and personal and spiritual development for 25 years. More than a decade of experience holding outdoor women’s & co-gender gatherings provides the foundation for this work with young women.

Tides relies on ongoing support from funding agencies and private charites. We are grateful for funding from Lotteries, COGS, Pub Charites, Tui Balmes and Waxes and a number of private donation. We also rely hugely on volunteer time in the sense that without those willing to put in energy for no monetary remuneration Tides events simply wouldn’t happen. To improve the sustainability of Tides our first role of paid employment began in 2007 with an administrator and has increased to include a finance role and managing director.

Events are mostly self-funded with all participants (including first time facilitators) paying the costs of food, accommodation, cook and directors fees. We have a scholarship fund for young women who require financial assistance to attend which is funded through donations from various people and organizations.

Tides contributes to a more healthy community both locally and regionally. Between 30-50% of the young women attending Tides travel from outside of Golden Bay to attend, some coming from as far as Christchurch and Auckland. We honour the process of becoming a young woman, the sacred mysteries of women’s cycles and creation being central to our program.

Individually we aim to provide young women with the self-knowledge and tools to strengthen their sense of well being and confidence which in turn contributes to the community they are part of.

Families benefit from this work as parents and caregivers are involved in the program, either throughout as a mother, or at the beginning and end ceremonies. In this way the concerns and hopes of the responsible adults in young people’s lives are heard and worked with to.

This work benefits the community by assisting young women in understanding they are part of a “we” rather than an isolated “me” lacking connection with or responsibility for their human and natural environment.

Our main need at present is to increase the capacity of Tides management team and events crew. We are seeking funding to support volunteers and facilitators attending with the intention of learning specific roles to ensure the succession of team members.
We also seek assistance with the following;

• Supporting Tides to be documented by assisting the completion and production of our Tides training manual.

• Contribution to Women’s Scholarship fund to assist volunteers and facilitators with long distance travel costs in attending events.

• Contribution to Young Women’s Scholarship fund (we do not want financial issues to stop any young woman from attending Tides).

• Training to enrich the pool of Tides facilitators (communication courses, first aid certificates, outdoor safety skills, connecting with other youth programs internationally and possibly the running of Tides events nationally).

• Paid management positions –administration, finance and managing director.