‘Amplifying Rangatahi Voice’

Toi Matarua’s Rangatahi News - Hanuere Newsletter

Kia ora e te whānau whānui,

Ngā mihi o te tau hou Pākehā & nau mai, hoki mai ki Pakaru Pānui!

We’ve had a notable start to the year here at Toi Matarua, with rangatahi from our Tū Tārake Leadership Development Wānanga running our 2026 Ihi Camp! Along with bittersweet moments, saying goodbye to our leaving graduates of 2026 as they start their own journeys. In saying that, we’re delighted to welcome new faces to the Toi Matarua whānau, as new team members join Pakaru Pānui and MokoBoys, they bring fresh energy, skills, and perspectives to support and grow our kaupapa.

All in all, it’s been quite an exciting start to the year! We can’t wait for you to see what we have in store for 2026…

Mauriora,
The Pakaru Pānui Team

Our highlight of this month was definitely our very exciting rangatahi-led Ihi Camp! We had just over 80 rangatahi from around Te Ika-a-Māui attend the four-days, held here at Ōmahu Marae. We were not joking about hitting the ground running this year lol. The purpose of this camp was to create a space ‘where rangatahi ignite’ their own fires, nurture these through engaging workshops with the hope that upon returning home, they share their fire with their community.

This camp gave rangatahi a chance to get out of their comfort zone, including workshops like dance, music and haka. We got to see raw talent as they created a new song and haka from scratch that they then performed at our showcase evening for the community and local stakeholders! Pretty amazing, if you ask us.

It was definitely a time to remember, filled with laughter, good mauri and inspiration. We even held a house competition (shoutout to group ‘E’ for taking the W).

You don’t wanna miss out next year! Onwards & upwards.

Saying goodbye - Raukura Graduation

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At the end of our Ihi Camp, we held a graduation for our beautiful raukura who are finishing up with Toi Matarua to start their own personal journeys.

It was a bittersweet ceremony for all our rangatahi and pakeke who were saying goodbye to not only our former leaders, but our friends. Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou!

We will miss you all and wish you nothing but the best for the future! As we say, the door is ALWAYS open 🫶

Introducing the new team

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We are excited to announce and introduce our new employees!

As we say goodbye to some of our graduating rangatahi employees, we welcome new ones! We have three new MokoBoys joining us; Paora, Mamor and Trekahn. They have already started mahi and are doing amazing in the community with our kaumātua.

But MokoBoy’s aren’t the only ones who have gained new members… We here at Pakaru Pānui have also welcomed Te Koha and Tamia (hey guys 😉)! Our girls have been working with us for two weeks now bringing fresh creativity to the team.

We are happy to have our new rangatahi among us!

Tāne Hauora Wānanga

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Last year before we closed up, we were privileged to attend a tāne hauora wānanga run by Matua Richard Allen form Mahia. The tāne participated in hauora and rongoā workshops where they exlpored the benefits of different plants and even got to make some rongoā for themselves and their whānau. This was awesome professional development for our MokoBoys in particular who run a social enterprise, Māku Organics, where they make and sell their own kawakawa balms to raise money to keep their mahi free for the elderly they serve.

To check out & support their mahi, visit their online store linked at the end of our pānui.

Ngā mihi Matua Richard!

Have you heard? 👀

This is a section where we share some of the cool kaupapa going on around us.

Have you heard about Taioro News?

Taioro News, a Te Tairāwhiti-based Māori news outlet, is actively reporting on kaupapa that affect us.

While at Ihi Camp, Taioro News interviewed two of our raukura who starred in our rangatahi mental health awareness production ‘Where there’s smoke’ and are now headed to Toi Whakaari to continue on their performing arts careers! Be sure to go check it out.

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Whakataukī of the Month

Proudly made in Kahungunu, our specialty organics not only offer natural care but also support our community. All proceeds from your purchase goes directly towards MokoBoys, a community initiative run by Toi Matarua that employs local youth in the Hawkes Bay region to provide free home care services to our elderly. Driven by community needs and entirely self-funded, the employment of these rangatahi is made possible by the sales of our Kawakawa balms through our social enterprise arm - ‘Māku’.