Two young Hastings wahine have been selected for Tuia mayoral mentoring programme

Chanay Peri (left), Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst and Angel Hillman met to officially make a start to the Tuia mentorship programme. Photo / Supplied

Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst will be taking Chanay Peri, 24, and Angel Hillman, 23, under her wings and mentoring the pair this year.

The two wahine have been selected as part of the nationwide Tuia programme.

Tuia is an intentional, long-term, intergenerational approach to developing the leadership capacity of young Maori in communities throughout New Zealand.

Nationwide, local mayors select a young Maori aged 18-25 from their district to mentor one to one, to encourage and enhance leadership skills.

This week the mentorship formally began, with the Hastings mayor meeting with two young women she will be working with this year ahead.

Hazlehurst has been involved with the programme for several years and selected Peri and Hillman to work with this year.

Peri works for Te Puni Kokiri and says her passion, through work and life, is to support others to achieve their dreams.

"Whether that be gaining a driver's licence or getting the job of their dreams," she said.

For herself, she wants to continue with her studies, with her goal for five years to be halfway through her te reo Māori degree and complete her law degree.

"My dream is to see Māori succeeding better than we have before, I dream that we have a community that every individual is succeeding for themselves, and where we are able to show our babies how easy life can be with the right tools."

Hillman is working for Sport Hawke's Bay in the He Oranga Poutama team while studying for a Bachelor of Science, majoring in physiology.

Her vision is to see Māori using health and fitness as an avenue to better mental wellbeing instead of alcohol, drugs and other negatively impacting substances/addictions.

She believes that some exercise, no matter how big or small, helps our people in more ways than one.

"Most don't realise that it doesn't only help physically, but also helps significantly with mental wellbeing; I've seen our statistics and want to do my part in helping close the gap," Hillman said.

The Hastings mayor said she was "looking forward to working with both her Tuia".

"I'm so proud of these two young women who are already on the path to achieving their dreams for themselves and their community," Hazlehurst said.

She went on to say, "They are an inspiration, and I hope this experience proves valuable to them, as I know it will be to me."

Running for a year, the Tuia programme includes mentoring, community contribution and wānanga.

Mayors select rangatahi Māori and meet with them monthly, including informal meetings and participation in many formal occasions.

The Tuia also undertake a 100-hour community contribution project and attend five wānanga in various parts of the country to build networks, obtain support, and be exposed to diverse people.