MANA TAKATA STORY
Driving whānau to success
Aukaha’s new driver licensing programme Aukaha Drive helps whānau overcome any barriers in the way of accessing driver licensing if they meet requirements. If you meet certain criteria, the Ministry of Social Development can cover the costs. We encourage you to get in touch to find out what we can do for you.
Meet Danielle Linwood, Aukaha’s Driver Licensing Coordinator for Aukaha Drive.
If you are requiring a learner, restricted or full driver license and you are experiencing some barriers in doing it, Danielle and her team are here to help you.
Aukaha’s new driver licensing programme Aukaha Drive helps whānau overcome any barriers in the way of accessing driver licensing if they meet requirements. If you meet certain criteria, the Ministry of Social Development can cover the costs. We encourage you to get in touch to find out what we can do for you.
Aukaha Drive works with schools, MSD and AWHI referrals, self-referrals, Te Kāika clients, lawyers and youth services – to name a few. As long as you are over 16, we can help. We can also assist those who need to convert their overseas licences.
Nearly 300 whānau have obtained their learners driver license in the last six months through Aukaha Drive, with a success rate of 100 per cent for those that have attended.
More than 120 have registered for their restricted license, while 65 have signed up for the full license. All classes are full through to August.
With Danielle’s kaiāwhina Susie Townshend by her side, the two facilitate and organise classes in Oamaru, Dunedin, Mosgiel and Balclutha.
Danielle says whānau are given hands on scenarios and talked through the questions step by step to help them understand and remember scenarios.
“Reading the road code is hard and boring. Usually, if you don’t know what something means, and there’s nobody there to explain it, you’re not going to understand,” she says.
“We break down the information they need to know into simple, easy to understand segments and then practice the parts that they need in visual concepts to ensure we can communicate across all kinds of learning styles.”
Danielle is originally from the United Kingdom and grew up in a small town called Canvey Island, but it was Doctor’s Point in Waitati that stole her heart while visiting her sister some 12 years ago. From there she decided to shift her life to the other side if the world.
Danielle’s background is in psychotherapy where she worked with youth with behavioural problems in the UK, as well as guidance counselling both in the UK and in New Zealand.
“It goes back to helping people and removing barriers and teaching. I've got a real passion for believing people can do anything as long as they put their mind to it,” she says.
Her experience is a huge asset to her role, helping those who might be nervous and experience triggers with achieving their goals.
“The people I work with the most are the ones that struggle with anxiety and fear and have no help around them. I tend to get those students to work through the barriers first, before they go to an instructor,” she says.
“My training, my teaching, all of my career life has always been to empower people to move forward into something and become something.
“So many people have been told or think they can’t do things. And it’s my job to help them realise that just isn’t true, that they can do anything they put your mind to.”
Aukaha is driven by the values and aspirations of mana whenua to provide a positive impact to whānau and our wider communities. By creating better outcomes for Māori and Pasifika, and all of our communities, we will strengthen the future of our region.
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