Te Rarawa & Te Aho Tū Roa - Tuhononga / Partnership
Te Rarawa and Te Aho Tū Roa (with Toimata Foundation) maintain a partnership focussed on applying the historical mātauranga o ngā mātua tūpuna to help guide present day actions and initiatives. A tangible reflection of this philosophy is that the partnership between Te Rarawa and Te Aho Tū Roa is encapsulated in a ‘Mana Enhancing Agreement’ (MEA), rather than a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ (MOU).
Te Aho Tū Roa places great importance on the need to return to the management systems of our tūpuna. Ka whakahoki ki te kaupapa o tō tātou tūpuna, ‘he mana tā te kupu’ - what was said by tūpuna was their word and it was done.
He tao rākau, e taea te karo. He tao kupu, e kore taea te karo.
A wooden spear can easily be warded off. A spoken spear cannot be warded off.
The engagement between Te Rarawa and Te Aho Tū Roa is genuine of heart, mind and spirit, as we work together to achieve common goals that align with both Te Aho Tū Roa and Ngā Pou e Whā. As a result of this partnership we are strengthening our connection with whānau, hapū, iwi, marae and the environment within the rohe of Te Rarawa. Networking, co-creating and collaborating on iwi projects allows us to share resourcing and to extend our reach to effect change through this transformative engagement.
Existing collaborative projects include, but are not limited to:
- Te Rarawa & Te Hiku o Te Ika Rangatahi Noho Taiao
- Te Rarawa Mauri Ora Mai Tawhito Wānanga
- Tuia Maara Whenua Roopū Rongoā
- Te Hiku Dune Lakes Restoration (Ngā Roto Tapokapoka)
The reciprocity and generosity of spirit continues as Te Aho Tū Roa offer hui whakapakiri to help develop tuākana who are kaimahi from Te Rarawa. These tuākana later support different regional and national events.
Mai i ngā mahi ngātahi, ka ora ai te iwi - When we work together our iwi flourishes.
About Te Aho Tū Roa
Te Aho Tū Roa is a programme that works with iwi, hapū, marae, kōhanga reo, puna reo, kura, wharekura, and all communities that embrace Māori culture, language and wisdom. Te Aho Tū Roa is a te reo Māori term that describes the cord that connects and sustains us, joining us to those who have gone before, and to those who will come after us.
As a programme, Te Aho Tū Roa seeks to strengthen the following connections:
- ‘People to People' - including past, current and future generations; and
- 'People to Place' - embracing every element including the physical, spiritual, and living aspects of our world.
Kei ngā kaiwhiri i Te Aho Tū Roa e tūhonohono nei i a tātou ki a tātou; i a tātou ki ngā mātua tūpuna; i a tātou ki taiao e!
Connecting us with each other, with our tūpuna, with our environment – Connecting People to people, and people to place!
Te Aho Tū Roa supports iwi, hapū, marae, kōhanga reo, puna reo, kura, wharekura and hāpori (community) learning, through te reo Māori, by providing:
- Whakangungu (professional development)
- A range of rauemi (resources)
- Connections with NZQA and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa (Curriculum for Māori medium schooling)
- Networking opportunities
- Poutautoko (local liaison support)
- Opportunities for intergenerational learning
Te Aho Tū Roa is growing at a regional and national level, with new team members bringing skills and abilities to the kaupapa. Our focus is to empower participants by developing capacity, providing support, and creating and strengthening networks.
At a regional level, Te Aho Tū Roa has developed a support structure based on a ‘Poutautoko’ model utilising community-support people, who work in different ways with a diverse range of Te Aho Tū Roa programme participants. The Poutautoko role was co-designed at Poutautoko hui and capacity has been built in the Poutautoko team nationally.
At a national level, Te Aho Tū Roa is attracting very talented young people who want to work in the kaupapa, and this has created opportunities to develop exciting ways of working with young people to strengthen their identity and their connection with the environment. Other developments include providing our tuākana (post-school youth) with waka-hourua experiences, and expanding our network to include kaumātua, who are going back into the kura to share their knowledge.
People to People – bringing participants together to connect, share and learn.