When a donation came in recently, from a person who had received financial help from Kingdom Resources 30 years ago, we were intrigued. It’s not every day that a story that comes full circle, so we approached Mark to see if he would be interested in chatting about his experience all those years ago as a Kingdom Resources’ client.
Over a coffee, Mark spoke about how Kingdom Resources had helped him to get ahead, and how he came to the point where he was focused on giving back in life.
30 years ago, Mark had a young family and a home he was renovating. It was expensive to afford to pay a tradesman, so he did a lot of DIY to get the house liveable. With the help of his cousin, he built an extension, but when it came to adding a new garage, he didn’t have the funds. Mark approached Kingdom Resources who loaned him, interest free, enough funds to build the garage. Mark also needed a car, so he also received another interest free loan which enabled him to buy a car at auction.
Prior to having a family, Mark had played in a rock band, The Androidss, in the style of Iggy Pop and David Bowie, “all that kind of glitzy, glammy music,” Mark explains of his band which had some success on the New Zealand Charts. It all ended when the band’s drummer was busted for drugs by an undercover cop. Mark started rehab at Queen Mary, and says, “I got straight, went to church, got a real job and a haircut!”
Mark’s been sober from drugs and alcohol now for 21 years. Each day he attends an AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) meeting and says the ‘Third Step Prayer’ every morning. Mark explains that he breaks the 12 steps down into three things: “Trust God, clean house, help others” and says that if he “keeps those things in the forefront, it helps me deal with life on life’s terms”. He shares his journey to encourage others. “The essence of hanging onto what blessings I have, is by giving them away to other people to help someone else out,” he explains.
Mark’s house was eventually bought by the Salvation Army, and today is used as a community house where each week an AA meeting is hosted. The garage is still there, along with the improvements Mark made on the house. Mark says he’s glad the house is used for community support.
When Mark drove past the Kingdom Resources sign recently, he remembered the help that he’d had all those years ago. “I wanted to come and give back,” he says. “I know times are really tough at the moment. We were really blessed, and it helped out.”
Today, most of Kingdom Resources’ interest free loans are provided to enable clients to break free from the debt cycle. Mark’s donation, along with all the other generous donations and funding Kingdom Resources receives, enables us to continue to provide life changing help through financial mentoring, interest free loans, and women’s confidence and pre-employment courses. Together we can help our community to build skills and tools to create a brighter future.
By Janine Millington