It was great to celebrate the opening of the Wikitōria community housing this Monday, alongside Rachel Boyack MP and Hon Dr Nick Smith.
I asked Rev Watiri Maina, lead minister at Victory Church, some questions about this new project.
What are the Wikitōria Cabins?
The cabins offer transitional housing accommodation to people in our local community. They are an opportunity for Victory Church to be a part of finding solutions for housing needs in Nelson. It’s about giving people a place of hope, community and belonging.
How did it come about?
In 2016 Victory Church purchased an empty lot next door. We really wanted to use the land in a way that served the local community, but an opportunity for this to happen didn’t eventuate until last year. In May 2021 we started a conversation with Habitat for Humanity, as they were looking for a space where they could meet the needs for housing in Nelson City. We then partnered with the Salvation Army as they were connected with a number of people who were in need of temporary housing. It worked out that Victory Church had the land, Habitat for Humanity had the skills to build, and the Salvation Army had connections with people who were in need. It’s been a joint partnership between these three organisations.
Why is this important?
In Victory Church, our desire is to share the love of Jesus. The Wikitōria Cabins are an expression of this. We want to be a blessing to the local community of Victory and this is a way we can physically do this. At Victory Church, we want to be a people who offer hospitality to our neighbours. There is currently a housing crisis in Nelson City, particularly after Covid, and we hope that this ministry can help to alleviate some of these needs.
When will the cabins be available?
We’re really excited to be welcoming the people who will be a part of the cabin community and we’re hoping that these cabins will be available for people before Christmas. Our greatest desire is that they will find it a place of hospitality, welcome and love. If you would like to know more please contact the Nelson Salvation Army, as they are working through applications for people to go into the cabins.
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We have invited these writers to share their experiences, ideas and opinions in the hope that these will provoke thought, challenge you to go deeper and inspire you to put your faith into action. These articles should not be taken as the official view of the Nelson Diocese on any particular matter.
It was great to celebrate the opening of the Wikitōria community housing this Monday, alongside Rachel Boyack MP and Hon Dr Nick Smith.
I asked Rev Watiri Maina, lead minister at Victory Church, some questions about this new project.
What are the Wikitōria Cabins?
The cabins offer transitional housing accommodation to people in our local community. They are an opportunity for Victory Church to be a part of finding solutions for housing needs in Nelson. It’s about giving people a place of hope, community and belonging.
How did it come about?
In 2016 Victory Church purchased an empty lot next door. We really wanted to use the land in a way that served the local community, but an opportunity for this to happen didn’t eventuate until last year. In May 2021 we started a conversation with Habitat for Humanity, as they were looking for a space where they could meet the needs for housing in Nelson City. We then partnered with the Salvation Army as they were connected with a number of people who were in need of temporary housing. It worked out that Victory Church had the land, Habitat for Humanity had the skills to build, and the Salvation Army had connections with people who were in need. It’s been a joint partnership between these three organisations.
Why is this important?
In Victory Church, our desire is to share the love of Jesus. The Wikitōria Cabins are an expression of this. We want to be a blessing to the local community of Victory and this is a way we can physically do this. At Victory Church, we want to be a people who offer hospitality to our neighbours. There is currently a housing crisis in Nelson City, particularly after Covid, and we hope that this ministry can help to alleviate some of these needs.
When will the cabins be available?
We’re really excited to be welcoming the people who will be a part of the cabin community and we’re hoping that these cabins will be available for people before Christmas. Our greatest desire is that they will find it a place of hospitality, welcome and love. If you would like to know more please contact the Nelson Salvation Army, as they are working through applications for people to go into the cabins.
Check out other articles in the
series below.
More articles in the
series are to come.
