Business-savvy youth leader raises $1000 for Te Hono

Student journalist Roshni chats to youth leader Chris Kumala.

Chris Kumala is a regular chicken carer at Restoring Rosedale. He is an Indonesian-Chinese Year 12 student at Rangitoto College, who was born in Aotearoa New Zealand. Chris started attending working bees at the restoration in Year 9 initially for tree-planting, because he saw the impact made.

Adding on to his ‘chicken carer’ role, he also has another very intriguing role, which we would call, “Business Activator.” When asked about what he does as a chicken carer, he replied, “The team and I care for 18 chickens. This includes cleaning their water, refilling their food, and most importantly, checking that they’re healthy.” Chris highlights how those two roles of his are quite different from each other. As for the business side of things, he manages revenue streams, organises outreach about sustainability and manages money. 

Many people believe that what we learn in extracurriculars doesn’t sew itself into our daily lives. Well, Chris is proof that it does. His favourite subject is Economics, and has raised over $1000 for Te Hononga a Iwi at the Enviro group BBQ. He says that he felt proud that not only was he able to raise a large sum of money, but he also raised awareness about the cause.

Additionally, Chris has stood out with his outstanding talents and knowledge in the economics field and has been selected to attend an overseas forum in the United States at the end of Term 2. It is a prestigious, highly selective gathering that is a pre-college program at Yale university. We, at Te Hōnonga a Iwi, are extremely proud and look forward to hearing all about Chris’ experience at the Yale Young Global Scholars forum.

Self-belief and acknowledging the work you do is an important part of volunteering. Every small task you conduct has a difference. For Chris, physically seeing the difference in the amount of weeds or native trees planted is a coolest thing about being a Youth Leader. He has developed essential skills since he joined the team in Year 9 like leadership, communications, and planning. 

One time, Chris and the team were handing out flyers about Christmas fundraisers, and talked to local businesses about sustainability and encouraging donations, he really felt that they made an impact. Now, Chris always looks for items that do not contain more plastic since he has seen the horrifying effects of it on te taiao. 

With his role, it is important to have a model or someone you look up to, so that you can set goals that are clear. Nicky Shave, our project leader, and the driving force behind Restoring Rosedale, is a lot of people, including Chris’, role model. She is kind, encouraging and resilient.