Helen Craig
Paper Bag Lunch Coordinator
Paper Bag Lunch Coordinator
Helen grew up in Ōtepoti/Dunedin and now lives with her whānau in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. From a young age, she’s loved kai (food). She fondly remembers cooking interesting dishes with her dad and baking with her grandmother as a child.
It's no surprise, then, that Helen's the Community Kitchen coordinator! And alongside this role, she runs our Paper Bag Lunches programme.
Helen and her family have whāngaied their two younger children who whakapapa Ngāti Porou, Ngāi Tūhoe, and Ngāti Kahungungu. Through BGI, they've had some amazing opportunities to visit marae around the motu (country) and deepen their connection with te ao Māori (the Māori worldview).
Helen loves working with rangatahi, community members and fellow BGI staff who are just as passionate about food and whānau as she is. Looking back, she wishes she’d been encouraged to build confidence in herself sooner. At BGI, she's teaching youth how to feed themselves well, and back themselves while doing it.
Daniel Kumar
Youth Worker
Youth Worker
Daniel was born in Auckland and lived in Tuvalu, Fiji and Australia, and now calls Wellington home.
Daniel was a part of a BGI’s kaupapa, Te Ahi o nga Rangatahi and that’s how he became connected to BGI. During this programme Daniel learnt the importance of youth representation and speaking on things that are important to you. In 2022 BGI offered Daniel a scholarship to study at Praxis and through this he has learnt to be able to better support rangatahi and aims to empower other rangatahi to speak on matters that are important to them. At BGI Daniel is programme coordinator for Te Ahi and helps out with programmes like Journeys, Sports Break and Paper Bag Lunch.
Outside of BGI Daniel loves creative expression including dancing, random painting, hanging out with mates, being in the water, music and long walks in the sun.
Slay, Serve, Survive
Daniel