Victory Village, comprising Victory Community Health Centre and Victory Primary School, is a unique example of a community-based support group achieving positive health, social and educational outcomes. After evolving from a number of health and social services operating randomly out of school meeting rooms in a disadvantaged area of Nelson,

Victory Village and the wider Victory community have gone on to attract national attention for the way in which they respond and relate to their community’s needs and aspirations. This has resulted in a more sustainable community, with more effective service provision and families that are more stable and resilient.

Victory Community Health Centre actively promotes and provides accessible health services and programmes to residents, acting as an information and referral hub for 13 different agencies and groups.


Victory Primary is a decile-3 primary school of 400 students, providing Year 1 to 6 mainstream and bilingual Maori education. In doing so, it practices The Victory Pathway, which is an interactive approach to producing positively achieving young people, developing strong families and building on social capital in the Victory community.

Students at Victory Primary School begin their school life at or under the expected achievement levels for reading, numeracy and writing. On finishing, 90% of students are performing at or above expected achievement levels. The school has no stand-downs or truancy and referrals of students to social services have also dropped significantly. The school promotes a Home/School Partnership programme to enable parents to support their children in their studies.

The efforts of the wider community of Victory succeeded in getting a Community Constable appointed to the area in 1999, as well as arranging a programme to assist residents with literacy difficulties in acquiring their driving licences.

Victory Village hosts refugees and migrants from throughout Asia and the Pacific, the most recent of which coming from Nepali camps. All are supported by a community that includes a pharmacist who delivers medicine to the elderly and shopkeepers who provide basic items, without charge, to struggling families.

Along with concerts, movies, games and Race Unity Day in Victory Square Park, Victory is a vibrant community, with Victory Village at its heart; a one stop provider and facilitator of health, education, meetings and celebrations. 

For more information visit the New Zealander of the Year Awards website.