Description

Kia Mau Te Ora is a series of Waka wānanga undertaken by Ngā Waka o Te Taitokerau (Ngā Waka) in the Far North to maximise the suicide prevention kaupapa and develop an evaluation process. Under this programme Ngā Waka provided three wānanga between September and December 2014 with upward of 120 participants. Kaiako (trainers) received specific training in suicide prevention in regards to how to identify and work effectively with at risk people.

Registered as a Charitable Trust in 2009, Ngā Waka o Te Taitokerau Trust is based in the far northern region of New Zealand where it has operated for over ten years. Under the guidance of world renowned navigator Hekenukumai Busby, master carver, and tohunga, the central focus of Ngā Waka has been the protection of the traditional waka and the co-ordination of events each year in Waitangi for the Waitangi day celebrations.

The Ngā Waka programme aims to facilitate, empower, encourage, and immerse whānau (family) in the learning of tikanga (protocols) and activities relating to traditional Māori waka including, Waka Hourua (traditional Polynesian double hulled sailing canoe) Waka Taua (traditional Māori War canoe) and Waka Tete Tangata (working vessels to carry food, woman and children) in an alcohol, substance, and violence free environment. This framework therefore provides the basis for Kia Mau Te Ora.

Over the past five years, Ngā Waka have been on the world stage with the handover of a Waka Taua to the Amsterdam Museum in Holland, the Queens Jubilee celebrations in England, and the Rugby world cup in 2011 as some examples. The flow chart below outlines the range and scope of activities undertaken by Ngā Waka o Te Taitokerau Trust.