My Account
No-one appreciates the irony of Mark Gatt’s appointment as programme manager for the Snells Beach-based youth initiative Futureworks more than the man himself. While he checked out of any academic learning at an early age, he is now immersed in motivating students to achieve their NCEA credits and pursue internships or further learning. But perhaps it is precisely because he hasn’t followed a straight path on his own life journey that he has the empathy, patience and understanding to guide, when he can, teenagers who are on the cusp of finding their own way in the world ….
School is a story all on its own! At the start I did quite well, and I’ve always loved sport and music. But around Standard 3, I decided soccer was going to be my priority. Dad was a soccer coach and I loved to play. I didn’t want to fall behind on the work though so I persuaded my classmates to mark my work as correct, even though it wasn’t. Basically, I cheated and got away with it. This went on for about a year-and-a-half until one day the principal came into the room, stood me up in front of the class and exposed my fraud by asking me the questions on the sheet, which I clearly did not know the answers to. It was the most humiliating experience. Even though I now accept that what I did was wrong, I think about how poorly the school handled it. Anyway, it was at that point that I pretty much gave up on school. I concentrated on sport and music, and refused to even try academically. I never read a single book or completed a single assignment through the whole of high school. I think the only reason I wasn’t kicked out was because of my sport – I captained the First XI – and my music.
By 14, I’d set my heart on becoming a rock star and was already ‘living the life’ – there was plenty of weed, booze and girls. For a boy from South Auckland, I thought I had it made. My Mum and Dad are really loving and supportive parents, but I don’t think they had a clue about what was going on. When it came around to doing the School Certificate exams, of course I hadn’t done any study. Even still, I nearly passed English! We were asked to write three book reviews, which was a little difficult for me given that I’d never read a thing, so I made them up – the title, the author and the story. My complete fabrication earned me a score of 42 per cent! Towards the end of our last year, I was asked to play at the school concert and decided to “go clean”, do a good job and at least finish school on a positive note. And it was about this time that I met a girl who had a very different lifestyle to mine. She didn’t smoke or drink, and had a spirituality that intrigued me. I guess it woke something up in me that there was a whole lot missing in the life I was leading. Like all Kiwi kids, I’d always dreamt that somehow I was meant to do something significant or have a significant life in some way, but I could see I was heading nowhere.
This is when the searching and questioning on some of life’s bigger questions started. I started to read the Bible, and I began to be exposed to different ways of living, other life choices and philosophies. It was a spiritual journey for some inner peace and purpose, which was outside of the destructive behaviour I’d been involved in. I knew I wanted to help people, not hurt them. I left school and went to work painting houses and working in cafes while I started to sort myself out. I went to visit my brother in the US and then spent a week in Fiji as a volunteer. It was the beginning of a love affair with the Pacific. I just loved Fiji and have been back about 15 times. I’ve been involved in lots of voluntary work, from painting houses and building projects.
When I returned to NZ I joined the youth volunteer group Global Task, recruiting volunteers and travelling to India, Tanzania, Vanuatu and Ratuma, in outer Fiji. It’s where I met my lovely wife Katie. We were young and idealistic, and there was definitely a “we want to change the world” element to what we were doing. But the Pacific, and Fiji in particular, had caught our hearts so after five years working in recruitment, we decided to go back into the field ourselves and we spent 18 months with Happy Home Foundation, an organisation that works with street kids in Fiji. It provides shelter, food and a safe place to hang out, play music and be off the street. A lot of the parents of these kids were prostitutes so we also spent time with them, trying to help where we could. We tried to create a non-judgemental environment where society’s so-called ‘misfits’ could feel safe. It was a place where everyone was welcome, regardless of their background, their social status, their beliefs or whether they were gay or straight.
But when we decided to start our own family, we knew it was time to move back to NZ. Truthfully, though, we also needed a break from ‘people’ work. We were both burnt out and needed a rest. We were in our late 20s and had been exposed to the sad side of humanity and some pretty dark stuff. It took its toll. Although I feel proud that we followed our convictions, it came at a cost – we were exhausted and probably a little disillusioned. We realised that while we’d been working hard to change the world, other people our age had been building themselves careers, buying houses and setting themselves up financially. Maybe I do have some regrets about this period in our lives, but on the other hand, I feel proud that we followed our convictions.
When we got back I worked as an associate pastor for the Urban Vineyard Church in Auckland but, honestly, there was nothing left in the tank to give to people. It was a hard call, but because Katie was burnt out, too, we knew we needed a break. We wanted to live by the beach and buy our first home so we moved to Snells Beach. I went painting houses and mowing lawns, playing music in my spare time and tuning out. Plus, the family was expanding – we now have three kids, aged five, two and four months.
After two years, my head woke up and I volunteered to help at Springboard, just supervising the young guys chopping firewood. It was a way to start connecting with people again, without too many responsibilities. After six months, Gary (Diprose) asked me if I wanted a job managing a new programme they were going to launch called Futureworks. It was going to be different from the core work of Springboard in so far as it was going to be about connecting with all 15 to 17 years olds in the district, whether they were ‘at risk’ or not. I was intrigued and, albeit a little reluctantly at first, agreed.
I started around September last year and what’s unfolding is really exciting. Although we were originally looking at the Otorohonga model of transitioning young people into employment, we’ve since won a Ministry of Social Development contract that involves encouraging kids to stay in school and transition into further learning or a career. I’m working with everyone from high achievers to kids in serious need of assistance, as well as key stakeholders. It’s bringing a whole new dynamic and lots of new faces to Springboard so it’s pretty exciting. There’s a wide spectrum of kids – those who have been kicked out of home to the ones who look polished on the outside, but have a few issues to work through. For many there’s just no-one in their lives to listen and love them. For some there’s simply been a lack of parenting. Drugs are a pretty big issue, too, and so is boredom. Some of the kids have amazing stories that would just break your heart – on more than one occasion I’ve gone home to Katie and said .. “We’re just going to have adopt this one!”
One of my biggest regrets is the amount of time I spent getting wasted when I was young. Drugs shutdown your personality. But you have to make mistakes to learn and its natural for kids to want to push the boundaries, but I want them to keep within safe boundaries.
The journey so far has had big ups and downs but I feel like it’s all helped me grow in so many ways – especially the downs. I’ve come to a place of balance and I’m loving life – my family, my work, the direction I’m heading in. Since leaving school, I’ve pretty much been in catch-up mode and have fallen in love with reading and studying, and for the majority of the last decade most semesters I’ve been doing one or two papers through distance learning including topics in world views, theology, human development, world religions and youth work. I have a very wide view of God these days, which is more in balance with the rest of my life and what I believe. I still go to church, but if the fish are biting, I’m just as likely to be out in Kawau Bay. My understanding of God is far bigger than just meeting him once a week on Sunday.
