Newsletter March 2019

RAW on for Tour International Women’s Day 2019

During the month of March, Max and Annah travelled to Ashburton to speak to 300 mid-Canterbury members of Zonta International as part of RAW’s 2019 International Women Day Celebrations.  Max was the absolute star of the show with Annah once again enjoying the opportunity to engage with a wonderfully diverse and capable group of Zontians!

Read more about RAW in YOU Magazine and LATITUDE Magazine

International Women’s Day Celebrated Behind the Wire

To put a very special and unique spin on RAW’s 2019 International Women’s Day Celebrations, 50 distinguished guests were cleared to attend an hour-long celebration of song, dance, skits and speeches inside Auckland Region Women’s Corrections Facility (ARWCF).

Entirely organised by the women inside, the event was an outstanding success and a tribute to the talent sitting inside New Zealand’s prisons.  We would like to recognise the support and commitment by Corrections to enable this first-of-its-kind event to take place.  We look forward to making it an annual event!

The RAW Board Meeting Held at ARWCF

For only the second time, the March meeting of the RAW Governance Board was held at ARWCF. The meeting was beautifully catered by RAW On the Inside women and following the meeting, the Board was given the opportunity to enter the prison and engage with a group of 30 women that are driving and participating in the RAW On the Inside Programme.

Here are some reflections from the Chair of the RAW Board, Viv Maidaborn, on RAW’s work inside the prison.

“RAW’s work on the Inside is a true source of empowerment and enablement for all the women who chose to take part in it.”

• RAW is developing its own sense of community and support network for a diverse group of women across the prison.
• Rebecca’s 1:1 sessions are a very different level of engagement to what most other providers do. The outcome is a much higher degree of trust in RAW.
• The growth in interest, skills and hope continues to build in line with each RAW activation.
• RAW provides a platform where the women feel listened to and valued. They are seen as individuals with much to offer (with respect to skills and knowledge) as opposed to prisoners.
• RAW is breaking down old barriers and paving the way for new opportunities to flourish behind the wire such as the International Women’s Day concert.
• RAW is creating new levels of trust with senior prison staff which also opens up new opportunities for the women to gather and learn.
• The development of the RAW influencers Model has enabled women to take ownership and leadership for gatherings which they are fiercely protective of.
• The opportunity to link into the RAW on the Outside reintegration model really matters to the women; it gives them a sense of hope that they too could have a different future.
• Having visibility of women go through to RAW on the Outside and succeed in living a legal life, including breaking the recidivist cycle, is also extremely powerful. It no longer feels like a fluke but rather, a well organised plan that delivers that outcome.

Celebrating Success – Two more RAW Women Graduate!

On 19^th March Annah proudly attended the graduation ceremony of Norefjell and Patricia.  Norefjell graduated with a media arts degree in music and is now planning to do an honour’s degree in rare Māori musical instruments in 2020.

Patricia graduated with a diploma in beauty and, in the near future, is planning to set-up her own ‘brow-beautiful’ bar using a technique called mircroblading.   This process applies a semi-permanent pigmentation to the brows to create natural and fuller-looking eyebrows.

Time to declutter?

Do you have any small household items and/or big furniture items that are filling up your garage or that you no longer need or use?  The RAW store would love them!  We are in need of anything and everything – lounge suites, tables, coffee tables, dinnerware, bowls, prints, mirrors, clocks – anything would be appreciated!  We can also organise collection – Please message if you have anything available to donate.

RAW is looking for an Awesome Administrator

We are looking for someone with skills in office administration, accounting, is comfortable operating in a digital environment and would be willing to support RAW in a pro bono capacity.  Please contact us on 07 280 5611 or email sarah@raw.org.nz

Become a RAW supporter

When Annah and the RAW Women are out speaking to different community and business groups throughout the country, one of the most common questions they get asked at the end of the session is Q: how can we help?  Now there is a very simple answer – sign up and become a RAW supporter – on our new make it monthly donations page.

For as little as $20 per month you can help RAW do more of what it does best, transforming another life of crime into a life of promise.

Where will your donation go?

100% of the proceeds go towards advancing the lives of RAW women.  In a nutshell, we help RAW women learn how to live a different and better life through intensive mentoring, wellbeing support, education and career exploration.

Your life-changing donation helps fund the following areas:

Take 5 minutes to sign up for a life changing monthly donation.  Where else could the price of a cup of coffee do this much good?