We show Manaakitanga by caring for one another with compassion and humility
"He aha te mea nui o te ao?
He tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata."
"What is the most important thing in the world? It is people, it is people, it is people."
Our Background
Ole and Edna Gaspar are originally from Brazil and have served as volunteers within Youth With A Mission (YWAM) for over 30 years. Through their leadership and vision, they have implemented successful projects in various places within Brazil, USA, Mexico and New Zealand. They are currently based in Tauranga with their five children, where they run Pearanui Trust.
They started as contractors in December 2020, and became a Charitable Trust in February 2022. Pearanui was born from a deep desire to bring hope and a safe place for the young people to come and develop their talents and skills. Both Ole and Edna have vast experience in youth work, cross-cultural exchange, mentoring and life coaching.
Pearanui is a place to support and encourage youth to look to the future with enthusiasm and energy. This, in turn will bring changes from them to others, because life is worthy of living.
Our Team
Edna
Edna is creative and artistic, with skills in administration, people management, cooking/hospitality, event management, floristry, mentoring and conflict resolution. Her passion and love for people and their differences make her a great team leader and mentor.
Ole
Ole comes from a strong background of teaching and mentoring youth. Additionally, he holds various technical skills such as bone/greenstone carving, farming and horticulture, weaving and music. Ole has completed the Certificate Te Ronaketanga o Te Reo Level 5 in 2018.
Our Volunteers
Kaarina
Kaarina is originally from Thunder Bay, Lake Superior in north-western Ontario, Canada. Kaarina came to NZ in 2018. Kaarina has enjoyed her alternative and main stream education, and studying Fine Arts and Design. She has worked with youth in various capacities for most of her life and gained valuable community led cross cultural experience over the last 6 years as a volunteer with Youth With A Mission (YWAM). Kaarina has been involved with Pearanui over the last 4 years and has walked alongside many young people coming through the programme.
“I have had the privilege to walk alongside many young people, and have seen the relevancy and need for this kind of program. For our communities to thrive, we need our young people to thrive, and for that to happen we need to come together in our differences and diversity to support them in creative and culturally grounded ways. Pearanui isn’t just a program, it is a place and a people where you can belong”.
