Flip flops, thongs or jandals, call them what you will, but everyone from toddlers to grandparents love to slip on a pair on a hot summer’s day.
Beach life is synonymous with Gisborne which sports fabulous east coast sandy beaches and a cracker of a summer climate. Most locals don their jandals to pop down to the dairy and zip to the beach, or go anywhere! No one wants burnt tootsies!
And that’s why the Kiri Te Kanawa Village activities team, led by Yvonne Carter chose the humble jandal as a simple but practical item to fundraise for their tamariki.
Residents, their families and staff of the village bought or provided funds for the jandals to be purchased by the team, and as the numbers swelled the village turned their entrance wall into a mural of bright and (some) sparkly jandals. They gathered a whopping sixty pairs of jandals in all colours and sizes. 
Activities coordinator, Yvonne Carter, village manager, Penny Forrester, Kelsey Griffin (activities) and sales advisor Jane Smith check out the wall of jandals displayed at the village.
The village asked SuperGrans Tairāwhiti to distribute the jandals to those in need. SuperGrans is a charitable organisation that offer whānau a helping hand when they need it most. They provide the Tairāwhiti community with kai parcels, budgeting advice, life skills and cooking workshops, and social work.
Some of our Ryman residents belong to SuperGrans and share the skills and experience of people who have brought up families.
SuperGrans Tairāwhiti general manager Linda Coulston said the donation came as a surprise to them.
“We are going to distribute these to the whānau we work with who are rurally isolated as they do not have access to stores.
“It will be a lovely treat for the feet instead of using the communal Red Bands (gumboots) during these hot summer days.
“SuperGrans appreciates this donation immensely and so will the families who receive them.”
Village Manager, Penny Forrester says she is very proud of her team’s initiative and the contribution of the village staff, residents and families.
