“This is Our Story” Evaluation of the Ranui 135 youth agency (2016)

West Auckland-based youth agency Ranui 135 was established in 2002 as a response to statistics which showed local youth in a particularly negative light. The four founders, Rob Luisi, Emelita ‘Zee’ Luisi, Osaiasi ‘Ozzy’ Kupu, and Jarm Joseph created 135 to provide the guidance and opportunities they thought Ranui youth needed to realise their latent potential.

Fifteen years on, Ranui 135 continues to go from strength to strength. Now a locally-led charitable trust, the agency employs six part and full-time staff and coordinates several services and activities, including mentoring, leadership camps, weekly sports activities, career planning, employment pathways and a new social media project which upskills young people in event planning and management.

Several core practice principles underlie the work of Ranui 135. Youth are at the centre, and the focus is on the skills and potential each young person brings.

The holistic focus addresses every aspect of the young person’s life, be it school, family, or individual needs. And all this is done through an empathy lens, with a lot of passion and interest in the young people of Ranui and the Ranui community.