Tihei Taiohi
Lining up and talking to health experts is not every teenager’s idea of a good time, but in a fresh approach to hauora the conversations have been flowing.
Thirty tamariki and rangatahi, many with their whānau, gathered at Kaiteretere in the beautiful Abel Tasman National Park on Friday for an event aimed at not just talking about health, but providing youth with an opportunity to connect to te ao Māori, mātauranga Māori and a more holistic view of issues that might be affecting young people’s health.
The wānanga, named Tihei Taiohi, was a collaboration between cultural development experts Hawaiki Kura, Whānau Ora commissioning agency Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu, Māori primary health provider Te Piki Oranga (TPO) and Te Kotahi o Te Tauihu Trust.
“It’s a fresh approach to talking about some of those issues that are out there,” says Lydia Mains, clinical co-ordinator with Te Piki Oranga. “We know our tamariki and rangatahi are pretty tired of hearing repetitive messages about Covid-19, about vaccinations. That’s not to say those things are not important – they absolutely are – but we felt we also had to change up the conversation and have the opportunity to listen, to connect with some of our rangatahi on a closer level and in a way rangatahi can relate to.
“Teaming up with Hawaiki Kura has helped us enable that, and in a way that is fit-for-purpose and which suits our people.”
Hawaiki Kura are well known for delivering rangatahi empowerment and cultural development wānanga throughout Te Tauihu and their innovative wānanga are popular among rangatahi. The event on Friday was a family effort, with teenaged sisters Te Ao Mārama Nepia and Māreikura Nepia delivering the wānanga, supported by their father Kiley.
“Our wānanga are all about reconnecting our rangatahi to te ao Māori and promoting holistic wellbeing,” says Te Ao Mārama Nepia, 17. “We’re all about reminding our rangatahi that they are a seed born of greatness.”
Kiley Nepia said he and his family had been running cultural development wānanga for some time, but it was the first time they had partnered with health agencies.
“I think it’s been really beneficial for everybody. You know, when you have new partners there is always that aspect of the unknown. Will this work? Can we still do it our way and put tikanga first while balancing the needs of public health. But it was a natural synergy and I think, though a te ao Māori lens, rangatahi really took in the messages we had to share and importantly, we also listened.”
Pouārahi for the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency for the South Island, Helen Leahy, is delighted to invest in this initiative.
“Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu is proud to support Tihei Taiohi, yet another initiative from Hawaiki Kura that will deliver meaningful outcomes for rangatahi Māori. Their approach is the epitome of by Māori, for Māori, and in this case, by rangatahi, for rangatahi.”