Mangakino SCAF

Mangakino SCAF stands for Stronger Communities Action Fund. The organisation originated in 2000 when Child Youth and Family (CYF) initiated 9 pilot schemes throughout the country. The Memorandum of Understanding between Mangakino and CYF was signed by the following parties:

On behalf of the Mangakino Community - by Major Meihana Mason and Pam Wilson
Taupo District Council - by Ian Coulter
New Zealand Government – by Hon. Mark Burton

SCAF sites were set up throughout NZ to evaluate the devolution of funds directly to the community. The purpose of the fund was to try to strengthen the community and objectives included:

Increased community ownership of decision-making
Enhanced community participation in local services
Increased social cohesion
A more accurate assessment of local needs

The community was not told how they were to spend the money, although they had to fit into the broad objectives of CYF. They could come up with their own solutions but the minister would have to approve their strategic plans. Public meetings were initially held to gather ideas for the funding. Four main themes emerged:

Employment and Training initiatives
Community House
Community Swimming Pool
Public Transport

A fourteen member Committee were elected to represent the community and meetings are held on the last Wednesday of the month. The Taupo District Council was to remain the fundholder and our local Mangakino Community Agency contributed by being our administrator. An annual amount of $95,000 was allocated to Mangakino for a four year period – this was later extended to six years.

In 2002 the first coordinator Linda Spafford was employed, she was instrumental in helping to employ over 30 locals in the newly developed greenhouses – Gourmet Mokai. A small grants programme was also initiated by the Committee which enabled local groups to apply for funds for purposes to meet SCAF objectives. Some of these grants included; Christmas Parade funding 2001-2004, the Pouakani Marae being funded $30,000 to upgrade their kitchen premises; the Area School funded for Kapahaka Uniforms and trip to the national competition at Turangawaewae; Keep Mangakino Beautiful was funded for High-Visibility Jackets, Steamers Touch Team were given funding for uniforms, No Limits Youth Group was funded for Sports Equipment, a Computer and School Holiday Programme trip, the Junior Rugby League Teams were given funding travel to games and a trip, Night Hawks were funded to go to their annual conference.

In March 2004 Kirsty Trueman replaced Linda as the SCAF Coordinator. The Mangakino Community Swimming Pool project has been the main focus and has made excellent progress. The site at the Mangakino Area School was chosen for its accessibility, class-time benefits for the school children and so that it can be aligned with the new Community Gymnasium to become a one stop sporting and recreation centre. Over $300,000 has been raised towards the swimming pool, major contributors being: Mangakino SCAF, Taupo District Council, Trust Waikato, Southern Trust, South Auckland Charitable Trust, King Country Energy, Carter Holt Harvey Forests and local fundraising efforts.

In March 2005 the Mangakino Website – www.mangakino.net.nz went live. Mangakino’s local businesses and community groups were given the opportunity to be part of this site, with subscription fees for this service going towards the pool fundraising. The website, sponsored by SCAF and King Country Energy, will be a directory for locals, a way of constant public communication and may even encourage tourism benefits for the town.