A gang from Waikato called Tribal Huk has been working to change people's perception of gangs by delivering lunches to 25 schools daily.
Recently the philanthropic gang gave out Christmas presents to over 1000 children in the township of Ngāruawāhia.
The Ngaruawahia kids are in awe. Santa Claus' early arrival is no cause for alarm.
Tribal Huk President, Jamie Pink came up with the idea to help struggling families.
“This is not publicity it's giving back. I was a hungry kid and most of us were and to see that kind of stuff still around, we didn't like it. So we just want to do something about it,” says Pink.
Every morning Tribal Huk make 500 sandwiches paid for out of their own money and deliver them to 25 schools in the Waikato region. Throughout New Zealand there's 270,000 children living in poverty, an issue that Tribal Huk is concerned about.
According to Pink, “The aim is to cut down that number of children that are hungry in New Zealand. Hopefully in a couple of years those numbers will drop and we've also done our job. That's a big goal for us.”
Despite the negative stigma about gangs, Tribal Huk has earned the respect of this community.
Mother Laura Millward says, “It's a real cool community feeling and makes us feel like we all belong.”
Nakita Epiha says, “Seeing all the kids happy, getting presents, getting kai, and they appreciate it too.”
Tribal Huk hopes to expand the number of schools that benefit from their cause, but for now it's a day for Ngāruawāhia kids to enjoy themselves.
