Kia ora e te whānau,

Nau mai, hoki mai ki Pakaru Pānui. We made it whānau - it’s holiday season! To be very honest, this month has been pretty chill for us rangatahi. Our team headed to a research symposium, the MokoBoys took part in the Napier Christmas Parade with our kaumātua and we had our final Tū Tārake Leadership Development Wānanga of 2025 where we finalised our plans for Ihi Camp 2026!

In this pānui, we have a couple reflections on our year and some end of year messages from the MokoBoys and our Pakaru Pānui team. So grab a kaputī, a bikkie and come with us as we reflect on December and 2025 as a whole.

Mauriora,
The Pakaru Pānui Team

Our highlight of the year had to be our ‘Where there’s smoke’ Legacy Tour. In honour of 10 years of mahi in suicide prevention, Charlizza our founder & director wrote a legacy show about 5 friends who lost a whānau member and their journey through grief. The show promoted a message of hope and used wānanga as a way of working through the mamae.

We had some mean dances, songs and laughs in our show. We took it on tour around Aotearoa, performing 6 shows for communities and the Children’s Commission.

It was definitely a memorable time that had a positive impact not only on the audiences but us rangatahi performers.

OPSITARA Research Symposium

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On the 4th and 5th of the month, Toi Matarua had the privilege of attending the OPSITARA Research Symposium, a symposium dedicated to sharing and developing research done all around Aotearoa. This year, rangatahi, pākeke and kaumātua from Toi Matarua had the role of advisors in a research project we are doing in collaboration with EIT called 'Matihiko Minds'. Matihiko Minds is a research dedicated to mentoring Indigenous youth to think one step ahead of AI (Artificial Intelligence). This year OPSITARA was hosted in Dunedin, however next year we are hoping to take some of our rangatahi leaders to attend OPSITARA hosted in Invercargill.

Napier Christmas Parade

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Some of our MokoBoys were invited by our local kaumātua to support them in carrying their hand-made Maraenui Banners through the Napier Christmas Parade. These banners represent our community and the Toitū te Tiriti movement. Some of the flags have even been taken down to live at Te Papa, the National Museum! It was an honour to tautoko our kaumātua in their hīkoi.

Final Tū Tārake Leadership Development Wānanga ‘25

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This wananga we did a lot of activities to build connections and put into practice our leadership skills.

We did a MKR (My Kitchen Rules) challenge. We did a government challenge where we decided on roles within or groups including Prime Minister and Ministers of different areas as well as what we would do in our first 100 days of governance. Some of the topics that came up were rongoā Māori, child protection, the cost of living. We also learnt the pūrākau behind the game of Kī-o-Rahi before playing a couple games.

Our main focus for this wānanga was finalising all the details and workshop plans for our Ihi Camp coming up in January 2026. We smashed out our goals and then spent the evening at the opening night of the Fiesta of Lights in Hastings. It was an awesome way to end our wānanga and our year together celebrating all our hard work.

Saying goodbye to some of our team

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The MokoBoys have done a lot of mahi this year and are now headed off for a well deserved break.

We wanted to mihi to our raukura that have completed their last ever MokoBoys shifts, Peter, Materita and Julia. We are so proud of how far they have come and their many contributions to our nannies, koros and entire community! The team is going to miss them. We wish them all the best on their new journeys ahead.

❤️ Toi Matarua

Have you heard? 👀

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

Have you heard about Māku Organics?

Māku Organics is Toi Matarua’s social enterprise supporting the employment of local Hawkes Bay rangatahi. The rangatahi make and sell their own organic kawakawa balms and Rongo composting systems with all proceeds going towards keeping Toi Matarua’s MokoBoys service FREE for kaumātua in need (more information about the MokoBoys can be found on their website).

If you’re still looking for a Christmas gift for your whānau, then look no further. Māku Organics have three types of organic kawakawa balms:

• Original 30ml/100ml - Good for dry skin, eczema, cuts etc.

• Ihu Balm 20ml - Natural vapour rub

• Ahi Balm 30ml - Natural deep heat

OR you can buy ALL THREE in the Kawakawa Package for just $39.99!.

We also have a range of Rongo composting products to help you with managing kai waste in your whare. It is easy and low maintenance, perfect for busy households.

For more information head to their website: https://www.maku-organics.com/shop

Give the gift that keeps on giving this Christmas!

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Whakataukī of the Month

Well e te whānau, this is our final pānui of 2025. This year has been a rollercoaster but was so much fun. Thank you for coming along with us and supporting all our endeavours. We can’t wait to share what we have planned for 2026…

Kia pai te whakatā ❤️

Catch yous next year - DOITZ!

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’.