Kaikohe partnership aiming to turn Māori boys into great men

Kaikohe boys sprinting towards a future as great men. Picture / supplied

A new partnership between Te Rūnanga-Ā-Iwi o Ngāpuhi, philanthropic funder the JR McKenzie Trust and Kaikohe Intermediate School is looking to "change the narrative" by challenging and transforming deficit views and statistics, thereby growing young Māori boys who live in Kaikohe into great men.

The partners said a trend of recurring negative behaviour painted a bleak future for young Māori males in Kaikohe, particularly within the Year 7-10 age bracket. Students were disengaging in formal education; 77 per cent of stand-downs and 87 per cent of those suspended in the past two years were boys.

The Kaikohekohe Education Project recognised those challenges but was not dwelling on them as a defining factor.

The project was defined as a values- and strength-based programme for Year 7-10 taitama (Māori boys), the future fathers, partners, community leaders, and the next generation of Ngāpuhi. Taitama were seen as key members of the Kaikohe community, who were at their greatest potential to contribute, innovate and challenge how society functioned and designed success.

"Through early intervention and positive reinforcement, we want to bring excitement and engagement back into the educational systems of the Kaikohe community, particularly for our young Māori boys," Te Rūnanga-A-Iwi o Ngāpuhi general manager Erena Kara said.

"Current approaches just aren't working, so we're doing things differently, based on the principles and values of being proud as Māori and Ngāpuhi".

The project sought to strategically intersect current educational pathways at critical moments, building positive and safe transitionary spaces and walking alongside young Māori boys while they negotiated some of life's most dramatic developmental times.
Kaikohe Intermediate School had been chosen as the first school to deliver the programme, principal Freda Mokaraka saying some models had long been used in other regions, with positive results.

"We need to maximise our results by making the most of the resources available," she said.

"The key lies in knowing how to mobilise and motivate our boys to take up the challenge. Meanwhile, we are mindful about what we do and how we do it with what little resources we have."

Jim Matheson, project co-ordinator at the JR McKenzie Trust said, all young people deserved to experience success in education.

"We are supporting the Kaikohekohe Education Project because success is most likely to come from projects that are locally-driven and developed," he said.

"A key role of the trust is to support leaders of change in the community, and the Ngāpuhi Rūnanga is an organisation that can lead sustained change. By working in partnership with Kaikohe Intermediate School, they will bring to the table expertise that will raise the educational outcomes of this special group of young people."