Healthy lunches help young children learn.
OPINION
Toi Matarua, established in 2011 as a “by rangatahi, for rangatahi” performing arts group focused on mental health and suicide, has now transformed into an immerging rangatahi-led research organisation that specialises in health and wellbeing, social and justice issues pertaining to Māori.
The core objective of Toi Matarua is to meet the demand for significant research pertaining to indigenous issues including health, education, incarceration and addiction, to develop informed initiatives and educational programmes that foster leadership and optimise the health and wellbeing of whānau and their communities.
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,” says founder Charlizza Matehe.
“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.
“It’s the best feeling seeing rangatahi experiencing achievement and contributing to their own success as they learn and accept their own leadership”
Each month rangatahi from Toi Matarua will submit a kaupapa of concern from a rangatahi perspective.
KAUPAPA FOR THIS MONTH – HUNGRY PUKU
Rangatahi are concerned about the Government stopping the Ka Ora, Ka Ako Healthy School Lunches programme that was introduced as part of the government’s efforts to address child poverty and improve the health and wellbeing of children by providing free and nutritious lunches in schools.
It aimed to ensure that children had access to healthy food during the school day, which could positively impact their learning outcomes and overall health.
So what is it that’s actually happening?
In preparation for next month’s Budget 2024 Associate Education Minister, Act leader and deputy Prime Minister in waiting David Seymour is reviewing the free school lunch plan and said that he intends to reduce it by up to 50 per cent.
According to the most recent NZ Health Survey statistics released last year, one in three Māori students are impacted by shortages of food, compared to one in five of the rest of the kids. This means that Māori tamariki will be the most affected by these government cuts.
We should be concerned about this because research proves that a good kai helps us to learn and participate better at kura.
Some kids come to kura with no lunch because they have no option.
It is crucial that all tamariki have the opportunity to eat healthy kai at school, as they may be dependent on it in situations where they do not have enough food at home let alone to bring to school every day.
Some schools offer lunches in a canteen but at the expense of bringing your own money and not all kids have this option either!
One student, Julia, told us:
“I think it’s a good idea to actually put MORE effort into the free school lunches programme because lots of kids with big families like mine can struggle to send food with each kid.
“As rangatahi, we think we should be given a voice in what the Government plans to take away from our kura. We think we should stand up and protest and let our voices be heard.”
We urge everyone to speak up and protect it, so kids can focus on learning without worrying about a growling, hungry puku.
This piece was put together by 16-year-old Flaxmere College student Joseph, and 14-year-old Napier GHS student Amaiah.
If you are a young person based in Hawke’s Bay or have a young person in your whānau that you think might like to get involved in Toi Matarua Kaupapa, contact us by visiting www.toimatarua.com or email us at pakarupanui@toimatarua.co.nz