At BestStart Birkdale, our diverse community came together to celebrate Eid-Ul-Adha in a beautiful way—through giving. A food and pyjama donation drive brought our tamariki, whānau, and wider community closer as we shared kindness with those in need.
At BestStart Birkdale, we have a culturally diverse community, and we aim to embrace the uniqueness of each individual to make our centre a welcoming place for everyone.
Eid-Ul-Adha was one such celebration. As we learned more about it alongside our tamariki, we discovered that the essence of the festival is in “sharing what we have with others.” While it is mainly observed by people of the Islamic faith, the wider message of the festival—standing with those in need and showing kindness and brotherhood—aligns closely with our bicultural practice and values of manaakitanga.
Inspired by this idea, we organised a food and pyjama donation drive and invited our wonderful whānau to join us. By the end of the week, we were overwhelmed and truly touched by the generosity shown in the collections.
We reached out to De Paul House in Birkenhead, an organisation that supports families in need and works across various social causes. A representative visited our centre the following week and joined our tamariki for mat time. She shared stories about the work they do and how it benefits families in the community before collecting the donations.
Her presence and warmth made a lasting impression, and we all felt the same warmth in our hearts. We hope our tamariki will carry this torch of love, kindness, and humanity wherever they go, continuing the legacy of compassion we are nurturing within our learning community.