31 Oketopa, 2024

Mahi Whakamana, simply put, is about identity.

Developed in partnership with Te Rūnanga of Ngāti Awa, Bay of Plenty Futures Academy, the Ministry of Education, and local high schools, Mahi Whakamana was launched in February. It involves over 30 students from Trident, Whakatāne, and Tarawera high schools, each pursuing different trade training pathways. Trident students are learning to restore houses, those from Whakatāne High School are focused on building new homes, and Tarawera students are working on caravan restoration.

This year, a new dimension was added to their vocational education through attending three cultural noho. The aim of these noho is to foster a greater appreciation and understanding of tangata whenua, our values, and how this knowledge can enhance their working relationships with local iwi and hapū.

Throughout the year, our project management office, Taihuiringa, has been running the new pilot programme to support tauira studying trade training, helping them develop a deeper cultural understanding.

The first two wānanga explored the history of Ngāti Awa and the resilience of our people. The third wānanga, themed "Te Anamata – Decolonisation and Rangatiratanga," focused on contemporary leadership, kaitiakitanga, and future inspiration.

This month, ngā tauira marked the programme with a whakawhanaungatanga day and karakia to end the year with our Taihuringa team. It was meant to be a trip to Moutohorā to further ground them in the identity and whenua of Ngāti Awa, but due to technical difficulties and then poor weather conditions, the rōpū stayed on the mainland.

But a kōrero from Ngāti Pukeko uri Rapata Kopae in which he shared his ideas about identity and how, for him, it is intrinsically connected to be a kaitiaki of the whenua.

To ngā tauira katoa – thank you for this year and all the effort your poured into it, particularly to the six who were awarded gifts for demonstrating the values of our Rūnanga – Manaakitanga, Kaitiakitanga and Ngātiawatanga – throughout the year.

The six tauira who received gifts consisted of:

Tarawera High School

1.     Neveah Pakuria-Te Pou

2.     Raiha Cassidy

Whakatane High School

1.     Jordon Ngaropo

2.     Hare Takarangi-Tawhai

Trident High School

1.     Leo Collier

2.     Luca Watson

Tēnā koutou katoa e ngā tauira i whai wāhi mai ki te kaupapa o Mahi Whakamana. He hōnore nui te kite i a koutou, ngā tauira o Trident, Whakatāne, me Tarawera, e whai ana i ngā huarahi ahumahi, e whakapakari ana i tō rātou mōhio me tō rātou aroha ki ngā mātāpono o te tangata whenua.

I roto i tēnei tau, kua mahi ngātahi a Taihuiringa me koutou i roto i te kaupapa hōu nei hei tautoko i ngā tauira e whai ana i ngā ara ahumahi, kia whakawhānui ai te māramatanga ki ngā tikanga me ngā uara o Ngāti Awa, kia pai ake ai ngā hononga ki ngā iwi me ngā hapū o te rohe.

I te tuatahi o ngā wānanga, i tūhurahia te hītori o Ngāti Awa me te māia o ō tātou mātua tūpuna. I te toru o ngā wānanga, ko "Te Anamata – Te Whakatūrangapū me te Rangatiratanga" te kaupapa, i aro ki ngā āhuatanga o te māramatanga hou, te kaitiakitanga, me ngā akoranga hei hihiri mō te anamata.

He mihi aroha ki a Rapata mō tana tautoko i te hui whakapōtaetanga o Mahi Whakamana. Nā tōu aroaro me tōu arataki i whakarangatira ai tēnei haerenga, hei pou mārama mō ā tātou tauira, e whakakaha ana i te hiranga o ā tātou uara me ā tātou wawata.

Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou katoa e tū kaha ana mō te ao anamata, mō te mana whenua me ngā tikanga tuku iho. Kia kaha, kia māia, kia manawanui i roto i a koutou mahi ahumahi!