Dave’s toy-making skills bring a spark of joy

Since 2022, Dave, a quality specialist for Kāinga Ora contractor BGIS, and his workmates, have spent Canterbury Anniversary weekend making toys from recycled wood and painting them in a variety of bright colours.

The toys are then delivered in time for Christmas to tamariki living in Kāinga Ora homes across Canterbury, or who are connected to charitable organisations such as a Christchurch foodbank or Pillars Ka Pou Whakahou.

“Last year we made about 150 toys at Christmas, including 10 rocking horses,” Dave explains. “It’s a really good team bonding thing.”

Some of the brightly coloured toys Dave and his colleagues made last year.

Dave is one of thousands of skilled people around the country helping to keep Kāinga Ora homes warm, dry and safe for the individuals and whānau living in them. Kāinga Ora maintenance partners complete more than half a million maintenance jobs a year – roughly one every minute, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

In Dave’s spare time from his busy job, as well as making toys, the grandfather of six often helps out people in his community. Dave has a large vegetable garden and fruit trees on his property, and sometimes drops off vegetables to people and families in need.

And the self-confessed ‘magpie’, who collects second hand tools, has also donated tools to Kāinga Ora customers who need them so that they can fix their own bicycles, or skateboards. Dave also enjoys giving stone carving, mosaic and pottery lessons for people living in a Kāinga Ora community group housing property.

Dave says he is inspired to help others because he didn’t grow up with much.

His love of creating and fixing things was passed on to him by his grandfather, a blacksmith. “My grandfather always said, if it was made by man, it can be fixed.”

Dave’s manager Jackie describes him as a “good Kiwi, big hearted bloke.”

“He doesn’t do any of this for the recognition…he’s one of the world’s good guys.”