In 2008 Rye was employed alongside Mereana Pitman to advance the messaging of the violence free strategy to Kahungunu whānau, using performing arts as a platform for expressing key messaging,
Matehe and a number of other rangatahi portrayed these messages at theatres throughout Kahungunu. Now in her late 20s, Matehe continues to lead the voice of rangatahi through Toi Matarua.
The mission of Toi Matarua is ‘Kia tipu kia rea ngā pononga o ngā iwi taketake hei tikitiki mo te māhunga kia whakaora i te whai oranga ā mokopuna, ā whānau, ā hapū, ā iwi’, ‘To unearth the numerous truths of indigenous knowledge and use it for the healing and advancement of tamariki, rangatahi and whānau’.
“It’s about empowering our rangatahi in their pursuit and development of new knowledge to become their best,” Matehe said.
“We facilitate and manage safe spaces that support the rangatahi to assert their tino rangatiratanga and develop solutions to issues that impact them.
“We are there to guide and provide support through mentorship and other resources to explore and ‘go deeper’ into issues of importance to them,” Rye said.
“It’s the best feeling seeing rangatahi experiencing achievement and contributing to their own success as they learn and accept their own leadership.”
“They love that they have kaumātua who also enjoy the intergenerational transformation of knowledge and experiences that are shared between them,” Ara Hudson (kaumātua) said.
“Toi Matarua has seen some positive activities and initiatives transform lives. It simply is a great formula to support a brighter future.”
Toi Matarua has a dedicated communications team who are working to share the exciting things that are happening in the Toi Matarua space. Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated is excited to provide Tihei Kahungunu as a platform for Toi Matarua to share their stories – the point of view from the voice of our rangatahi.
We already have a line-up on kaupapa for the next 12 months. Watch this space. Articles will start in our July edition.