Walking and exploring in Porirua

The Arora family don’t have a car but that’s the way they like it.  Daiwik (8yrs) and Satwik (5yrs) enjoy the 2km or so walk to Corinna School and Cannons Creek Library with their Mum, Preeti.  Along the way they get to see native bush and different birds - even regular seagulls and sparrows are interesting. 

Often their journey home is via local parks where the boys spend time hanging on the bars stretching their bodies to make them tall!  They often ask about the power transmitter they see on their street, and have a lot of questions about what it’s for, why it’s there and how it gets power to all the houses on the street. 

Both Mum and Dad walk everywhere too, whether it’s to the bus and train to get to Wellington for work or to Porirua for shopping.  “We just walk everywhere and we love it.  You get a chance to see what’s happening around you.  As you get older you really realise how important moving is for your health, which makes it all the more important to teach your kids so they grow up healthy as well.  It’s also really important for us that we’re not polluting the environment”. 

But the Arora’s are not anti-car.  In fact they’re saving up for an electric car in the long term as they’d love to explore the country during the school holidays.  In the meantime walking brings so many benefits to their growing family that they wouldn’t have it any other way. 

“I just see how the boys are changing so fast. Walking is a part of their daily life and you can see that they just have so much more strength and resilience.  They see, feel and touch things on the way to school.  They’re constantly exploring and asking questions.  If we were in a car they wouldn’t get that.”

Corinna School have been long supporters of Movin’March and the stamping of passports and small rewards really makes a difference Preeti says.  “Daiwik is so taken with the passports.  He was so pleased when he completed his first card and got onto his second.  It really motivates the kids”.  Thank you Corinna School and to the Arora family who are championing walking not just for Movin’March but for life!