Supporting Māori to thrive
Hawaiki Kura Charitable Trust is supporting Māori communities to improve their health and wellbeing, in an inclusive environment where they can connect with Te Ao Māori.
The Trust – based in Blenheim – delivers wānanga (programmes) in the top of the South Island. This includes a cultural leadership programme for rangatahi who want to reconnect to te ao Māori (the Māori world), explore mātauranga Māori (traditional Māori knowledge) and go on a personal journey of wellness. During the wānanga, participants are taught different taonga tuku iho (ancestral gifts) such as mau patu (Māori martial arts), tākaro Māori (Māori games), and whakatau mauri (Māori mediation) and how to implement these taonga into their everyday lives to promote oranga, (holistic wellbeing). Tāne Te Waiora and Hine Te Waiora are further programmes designed to empower men and women on their respective wellness journeys.
“Hawaiki Kura is a kaupapa Māori organisation and so our mātāpono or our values, come from a kaupapa Māori worldview,” says Hawaiki Kura Charitable Trust Chair, Kiley Nepia.
“We absolutely believe in the power of mātauranga Māori to heal our people, and tikanga Māori, Te Reo Māori, these are all critical aspects.”
Kiley says the Trust is invested in the growth of people and community, but there are a number of barriers to participating in wānanga and it can be difficult to get whānau through the door.
“For some of them [participants], it’s because they don’t feel like they’re Māori enough, for others they feel like, you know, they don’t belong,” says Kiley.
He adds that, for many whānau, financial barriers put the programme out of their reach and disconnection from Te Ao Māori is another “huge barrier for a lot of people.”
Rātā Foundation has supported Hawaiki Kura to deliver cultural self-development and wellness wānanga under the Foundation’s Participate funding priority area.
“In order to build thriving communities, we want more people participating in cultural activities as a means of enhancing health and wellbeing,” says Rātā Chief Executive Leighton Evans.
“By reducing barriers to participation in wānanga, Hawaiki Kura is supporting whānau to develop deeper cultural understanding and lead healthy, fulfilling lives.”
Kiley says Hawaiki Kura is an active community with ambitions to continue to grow its impact.
“A lot of our whānau are saying that our wānanga in particular are life-changing for them,” he says. “It’s a moment in time where they feel worthy, where they feel love, where they feel included.
“We’ve built this thriving, vibrant community here in Te Tau Ihu and through Te Waipounamu, and we just want to be able to grow that and continue on this legacy within the community.”
Around 180 people have been involved in the wānanga (that have been funded by Rātā Foundation) to date.