Te Hoeroa ki Tū Manawa Ora - Journeying Toward Rangatahi Wellness
Hikitia te punga o te waka - puritia kia mau te kakau o te hoeroa, rite kia rite hoea to waka, ākina te ora.
Lift the anchor, grasp the handle of the long paddle, find rhythm and motivation toward our desired state of wellness. Te Hoeroa ki Tū Manawa Ora is the journey of overcoming our anxieties and challenges to courageously stand with purpose and confidence. Te Hoeroa [the long steering paddle] signifies the courage to navigate one’s own journey toward wellness.
Geoff Hipango - Te Ao Hou Marae, Whanganui
In 2024, a cohort of sixteen rangatahi jumped on a waka together and embarked on a journey towards wellness - grasping their own hoeroa (long steering paddle) and learning to navigate their own river of life with confidence. They were the first rangatahi to be involved with Te Hoeroa ki Tū Manawa Ora - a rangatahi empowerment kaupapa focused on increasing rangatahi self-efficacy, self-determination and hauora. This is a Whanganui-specific, kaupapa Māori approach to rangatahi wellness, sitting within a regional prevention strategy for Growing Collective Wellbeing.
Building on a local whakapapa of rangatahi initiatives, Te Hoeroa focuses on creating a stigma-free space where rangatahi can develop a sense of identity and belonging through cultural and environmental immersion. Embedded in ancestral narratives and based in marae and taiao contexts, Te Hoeroa gives rangatahi the chance to explore their identity, determine their own pathway toward wellness, surround themselves with protective factors, and develop the confidence and resilience to navigate their river of life.
A Community Partnership involving six organisations delivered the pilot of Te Hoeroa, funded by Te Aka Whai Ora, including: Te Oranganui Trust (Lead Provider), Te Ao Hou Marae, The Learning Environment, Healthy Families WRR, Awanui ā Rua Charitable Trust, and Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi. This Community Delivery approach was fundamental for providing a wrap-around programme that could support rangatahi beyond the constraints of a typical service. Each of these amazing organisations was able to provide different kaimahi, resources, infrastructure and relationships - building up a richer support network than any one organisation could offer rangatahi on its own. We believe collaborating across our rohe is the key to providing the best possible opportunities for our rangatahi.
Delivered across seven months, rangatahi were active in the pilot 3-4 days per week, with a noho every second week. Te Hoeroa involved wānanga, ritenga, mahi toi, camping, working with the whenua, growing and hunting kai, building, exercise, wellbeing practices, and expeditions from mountains to sea. Rangatahi achieved qualifications and developed a wide range of both hard and soft skills - increasing their employability, their capacity to steward ancestral land and their ability to contribute to whānau, hapū and iwi aspirations.
The pilot of Te Hoeroa ki Tū Manawa Ora was a powerful and enriching experience for everyone involved, with significant increases for rangatahi involved and strong ripple effects on the wellbeing of whānau. It was such a privilege for us to paddle alongside these rangatahi over the last few years, and we’re so excited to witness them navigate their personal awa with confidence and bring their aspirations to life. Kia mau, kia rite, hoea!
“Just as the hoeroa guides the waka, Te Hoeroa has taught us to steer our own waka through the waters of life... The awa is our learning place, teaching us how to hold the hoeroa with confidence, so that we may face the world ahead of us.”
Rangatahi, Graduation Speech
This film was produced by Tukua Storytelling Videography & Editing: Jordan Herewini
Conventional education and bottom-of-the-cliff mental health care are not working for so many rangatahi - especially those in the ‘Not in Employment, Education or Training’ demographic of Te Hoeroa ki Tū Manawa Ora. These rangatahi are systematically failed, then vilified for often gravitating toward violence, theft, ram raids, and gang lifestyles. Most of our Te Hoeroa rangatahi were on trajectories toward addiction, incarceration, severe mental unwellness and possible suicide. These rangatahi want and need a different approach to learning and wellness.
Our rangatahi are slipping through the ever-widening cracks in the system. Not only is this devastating for whānau and communities, but a system that fails rangatahi also comes at a high cost for society. Effective suicide prevention and wellbeing-enhancement requires the redistribution of investment into preventative approaches that meet the needs of systemically neglected rangatahi.
This could and should include rangatahi empowerment kaupapa like Te Hoeroa - which would significantly improve wellbeing as well as significantly reduce the cost to society. With the right investment, Te Hoeroa can grow into a sustainably delivered kaupapa that spans years and age groups, with sequential opportunities for rangatahi as they move through adolescent phases. If fully resourced, Te Hoeroa has the potential to ease the youth mental health crisis in Whanganui and contribute to a widespread increase in rangatahi wellbeing.
We are looking for Delivery Partners and ongoing funders to support the resourcing and delivery of Te Hoeroa ki Tū Manawa Ora on an annual basis. If you or your organisation/entity are keen to get involved in backing this game-changing initiative, please contact:
Wheturangi Walsh-Tapiata (Mātaiwhetū/CEO - Te Oranganui Trust)
wheturangi.walsh-tapiata@teoranganui.co.nz
Tracey Robinson (Mātaiawa - Operations, Te Oranganui Trust)
tracey.robinson@teoranganui.co.nz
For more information, check out our Te Hoeroa ki Tū Manawa Ora - Insights & Recommendations Report, which outlines the key things we learned throughout the pilot and what we would do differently in the future. The learnings in this report may be valuable for anyone working on rangatahi kaupapa across the motu.