Te Ora Hou Establish in Raetihi

Youth group leaders Jada Matthews and Leon Puhara.

Te Korowai o Wainuiārua Trust has partnered with Te Ora Hou to bring a weekly youth programme to Raetihi, giving rangatahi a space to connect, share kai and build relationships.

The group meets every Thursday and is open to intermediate and high school-aged young people. Each week looks a little different, but the group always stops in at Te Korowai o Wainuiārua’s offices in Raetihi to spend time together and share some kai.

Trust Chair, Aiden Gilbert, stressed the importance of the Trust building relationships with our younger generation.

“One of the challenges is that many children don’t know how closely related they are. It’s not just about fostering connection and relationships, it’s also about helping them discover their links through whakapapa, and providing what’s often missing in their lives: engagement with other rangatahi.”

Programme leader Leon Puhara said the focus is on whanaungatanga.
“Our greatest thing is like whanaungatanga, where we just try and make really good connections with young people and within the community itself,” he said.

Activities change from week to week.
“Every week, something’s different. Sometimes we go throughout town and look at the history of the place. We could do indoor activities depending on the weather. We’ve had sports days, Amazing Races, cooking days, and sometimes we split into boys and girls groups. The boys might roast marshmallows on the fire and have talks, while the girls focus on deeper connections.”

Leon said the programme is open to any young person who wants to come along.
“It’s pretty open, you can just bring your friends along. Once one kid joins in, they’ll tell their mates and their mates will want to join too.”

The local leader is Jada Matthews, who can be contacted if you or your young person would like to come along: 021 132 8295 or jmatthews@teorahou.org.nz.

The programme runs every Thursday in Raetihi.