Te Hau Whenua, Te Hau Moana

Te Kupenga Hauora rolled out their first whānau wānanga, May 21 – 24 delivering a range of education through activities and presentations to young people and their parents or caregivers. Based at Kohupātiki Marae at Clive, Te Hau Whenua, Te Hau Moana was designed to build resilience in the young participants and inform adults on how they can best support their rangatahi and feel confident in their approach.

Topics for sessions were aligned to the Te Whare Tapa Whā model that acknowledges the holistic wellbeing of an individual and whānau. This includes taha tinana (physical health), taha wairua (spiritual health), taha hinengaro (mental health) and taha whānau (family/ collective health). Sessions included sport, creative arts, nutrition, karakia & waiata, whanaungatanga, rongoā and pristine environments and how the marae works.

Interspersed with guest presenters who talked to the groups about subjects that relate to navigating being a young person today. Things such as “how social media affects your wairua”, “dealing with difficult emotions” and “getting through tough times.” Each topic was delivered to each of the three groups in a way that best suited them; tamariki (ages 10-13), rangatahi (ages 14-17) and pakeke (parents/grandparents/caregivers) and this meant the information could be best absorbed by the specific groups.

Programme Te Hau Whenua, Te Hau Moana is based on the whakatauākī “Pupuhi mai ai te hauwhenua i te tuawhenua, arā, mai i uta ki tai. “The land breeze blows from inland, that is, from the land to the sea.” It is inclusive of the varied origins of all attendees. “Not everyone is from Kahungunu but this name brings the people of the land and sea together and intends to whakamana (empower) participants as well the mauri and wairua (spirit) of each session.”

Alana Flavell, Kia Piki Te Ora Coordinator (Suicide Awareness/Prevention), was instrumental in identifying topics, planning the wānanga and facilitating. “We hope that those who came along got a view of how they can improve and how to create balance for themselves in their lives."

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