Our History
InZone’s founder and visionary, Terrance Wallace, arrived in New Zealand from Chicago in 2010. As he travelled the country, he was saddened to learn of the level of educational underachievement among Māori and Pasifika rangatahi.
This prompted him to establish the InZone Project. From the outset, its philosophy was to partner with top-performing state schools and build the support and pastoral care Māori and Pasifika students need to attend those schools and succeed academically, in extra-curricular life and as leaders. As a fledgling operation, the InZone Project began under the umbrella of the United Māori Mission.
In 2011, the InZone Project opened its first kāinga for boys, Te Kāinga Wānanga, at the United Māori Mission’s property in Lovelock Avenue. Its first students attended Auckland Grammar School, with the opportunity to fulfil their academic, leadership, sporting and cultural potential.
“Everyone deserves a shot”
In 2013, Terrance Wallace shared his story as part of the Vodafone New Zealand Foundation’s World of Difference programme. He talks about why he started InZone, how he became legal guardian to 52 boys so they could live in zone for Auckland Grammar, and what it means to see young people take their shot.
Watch Terrance tell his story.
Stakeholders and the Crown encouraged those involved to explore how the InZone model could extend these benefits to more Māori and Pasifika students. In May 2013, the InZone Education Foundation was formed as a charitable trust in its own right, separate from the United Māori Mission, to build on the Project’s early success.
In 2015, our girls’ kāinga, Te Kāinga Huarahi, opened in a villa at 33 Owens Road, with the girls attending Epsom Girls Grammar School. The deadlines for opening were tight, and it was thanks to an army of volunteers that the work was finished in time. In 2017, the girls moved to Lovelock Avenue, giving more girls the InZone opportunity. It’s the same building that first housed the InZone boys, which connects us back to our roots.
InZone today
Today, InZone is home away from home to around 70 Māori and Pasifika rangatahi. Our boys live at Te Kāinga Wānanga, our kāinga at 99 Owens Road, built on land provided by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, and our girls live at Te Kāinga Huarahi. Since 2011, InZone has supported more than 250 rangatahi.
Our first students are now physiotherapists, health scientists, coaches and teachers, and some have come home to support the rangatahi following in their footsteps. Fifteen years on, the kaupapa remains the same: a whānau environment grounded in Māori values and Christian principles, where rangatahi learn to carry themselves like leaders: Me Rangatira te tū.
Be part of the InZone story
Whether you’re whānau looking for the right place for your rangatahi, or someone who’d like to help open doors for the next generation, there’s a place for you here.
