By Rangatahi, for Rangatahi, with Rangatahi

Te Roopu Tiakai Rangatahi (TRTR) is a rangatahi-led development programme supported by an alliance of organisations in Porirua (Maraeroa Marae Health Clinic, Taeaomanino Trust, Tumai Hauora ki Porirua, Wesley Community Action) to grow wellbeing and resilience among young people. For a community with a very youthful population that has many predictors of poor life outcomes, TRTR provides a valuable circuit-breaker which cuts through many of the well-meaning, single-problem-focused initiatives that are dropped into the community.

At the heart of this is the growth and support of local rangatahi leadership, the Voyage group - rangatahi kaitiaki supported and empowered to develop solutions that meet their needs, designing and delivering programmes and events in the Porirua area.

From the beginning of the alliance in 2018 to the present day nearing the end of 2022, the leadership development has grown from strength to strength and practices have adapted to best suit the team members ways of working. This includes a workshop programme, Ko Au that the Voyage have developed and deliver in youth settings across their community.

Delivering empowerment and belonging

In a landscape of intergenerational and present-day trauma – the Ko Au programme is a game changer developed from identifying mental health, whānau breakdowns and poverty as causes of mamae for local youth and themselves. Ko Au is their response to these challenges.

Ko Au is a programme of facilitated workshops that support local youth to take control of their own narratives through stories they’ve seen or heard about their Tupuna, Ancestors, Parents, Whānau, Teachers and Peers. The programme encourages inclusiveness, leadership, teamwork and using the strengths of the participants. The support of the safety network also allows for a follow up process of letting young people reflect and unpack what’s on their plates, creating a sense of belonging and connectedness to others.

“As a revolving model of co-designed ‘collaborative planning, delivery and reflective debrief’ that evolves with every workshop, it is run “By Rangatahi, For Rangatahi, With Rangatahi”. We have created an actively engaged network of safety for our young people to fall back on.”

KO AU is designed to empower young people to take control of their own narratives. We understand that as young people, we don’t always get to make our own decisions & that a lot of the time the decisions are already made for us. So, in this space, we would like young people to be the decision makers and the ones in control of telling YOUR story as YOU see it through YOUR own eyes.

KO AU helps young people take us on a journey through stories they’ve seen or heard about their Tupuna/Ancestors/Parents/Whanau/Teachers/Peers. By doing this we give young people an opportunity to really unpack and understand some of the choices that were made and/or help understand the mamae that they may still carry to this day.

- Voyage

Weaving in community-led and child rich approaches

Mirroring the Child Rich Community approaches of engagement, connection, collaboration and focus on relationships, the programme goes well beyond ‘delivery” to a model of empowerment. The programme is now in action in a variety of spaces in the community, including local high schools. Participants in Ko Au have left the space with a different and more positive perspective on themselves, those around them and those who have gone before them.

Within the programme, there is plenty of space for Community-led Development (CLD) principles, such as growing collaborative local leadership, and learning by doing – an ongoing adaptive cycle of regular planning, action, reflection, and learning, something these rangatahi have locked into and see as a formulative and ongoing strength of the programme.