Why Ora

Today marked Day 3 of our Rapuara Hauora Māori Health Workshops, and we were privileged to have New Plymouth Boys’ High School join us! 💫

A huge mihi to Tui Ora and their Youth Services, Public Health, and Whānau Ora teams for sharing your lived experiences, and the vital mahi you do in our hapori.

Together, we are strengthening our taiohi and building healthier futures for our hapori.

Today we welcomed taiohi from Spotswood College for Day 2 of our Rapuara Hauora workshops, delivered in collaboration with Tui Ora.

Ngā mihi to the team at Tui Ora for sharing their knowledge and experiences, using meaningful kōrero and hands-on kēmu to showcase the impact of their roles and pathways available.

Although it was a small group, the setting created a more intimate environment where our taiohi could connect and actively participate.

Today we had the privilege of hosting Waitara High School and Inglewood High School, kicking off our Rapuara Hauora Maori Health workshops in collaboration with Tui Ora Taranaki.

Thank you to the Tui Ora Youth Services & HR Teams, who took up the task of inspiring our next generation through korero and kemu that they use within their roles. We’re excited to continue this kaupapa with the remaining workshops throughout the week!

Mā te huruhuru ka rere te manu - Adorn the bird with feathers so it may soar.

We are excited to share that we have now completed our second week of Mātaki shadowing! Why Ora Mātaki Shadowing opportunities are made possible through collaboration with Health NZ - Taranaki and Taranaki secondary kura.

These experiences allow our taiohi to shadow health professionals within their areas of interest and explore potential career pathways in the health sector.

Check out what some of our taiohi had to say about their experience!

🌱 Rapuara Hauora ki Tui Ora 🌱

📅 16th-26th June 2026 (check in with your Why Ora Kaiārahi to confirm your date)

📍 Tui Ora - Ngāmotu
⏰ 10:30-12:30

Join us for our second Rapuara Hauora Workshop as we explore Māori Health. Have a look into the incredible mahi the Tui Ora health professionals do every day to support the health and wellbeing of our whānau and hapori.

We look forward to seeing you there!

✨ Week One Done & What a Start! ✨

What a powerful first week of our Mātaki shadowing kaupapa!

After kicking off Monday with induction at Taranaki Base Hospital, we’re proud to share that 28 Why Ora taiohi have now completed 1:1 shadowing with health professionals, gaining real insight into the world of hauora. And this is only week one!

They’ve experienced a range of departments including:

Nursing
Medicine
Physiotherapy
Māori Health
Social Work
Pharmacy
Occupational Therapy
Orthotics
These experiences are more than just observation they’re about building confidence within our taiohi to see what’s possible.

Massive mihi again to Te Whatu Ora – Health NZ Taranaki 🤝 for continuing to create these meaningful pathways.

And to our tauira, we’re so proud of you! This is just the beginning 🔥

May has been a busy and rewarding month for us, filled with opportunities and meaningful experiences for our taiohi.

We began with Rapuara Ako, supporting our rangatahi to explore ako pathways and future possibilities. We also hosted our Why Ora AGM, taking time to reflect on the impact of our mahi and where we’re heading next.

A standout moment was the Otago University trip, where our Kaiārahi connected kanohi ki te kanohi with our whānau currently studying down south.

We also launched Mātaki Shadowing, giving taiohi hands-on insight into health career pathways, delivered two HMKWO Employment Readiness Workshops, and ran two Driver Licence Workshops to support taiohi in building confidence and independence.

And that’s only a snippet of what’s been happening! Bring on June 👏

Otago University Trip ✈️📖

Our Kaiārahi, Liahna and Rory, recently had the opportunity to reconnect with our tauira studying at Otago University!

After landing in Dunedin, they were straight off the plane and into a tauira dinner, creating space for our Why Ora tauira to connect with each other and build whanaungatanga.

The following two days were spent doing one on one catch ups with tauira and connecting with Te Huka Mātauraka tumuaki, Michelle, to build that hononga between Why Ora and the support our tauira Māori receive whilst studying at Otago University.

It was a great chance to reconnect kanohi ki te kanohi, engage with tauira around their experiences, kōrero about goals and reflect on both the highlights and challenges that come with studying away from home.

A huge thank you to all our tauira who took the time to meet with Liahna and Rory, they came back absolutely buzzing!

Keep an eye out for next week’s post, where we’ll share a closer look at what they got up to through a video recap!!

Today the vibe was buzzing with excitement as we headed to Taranaki Base Hospital to support our taiohi during their Mātaki shadowing induction 🏥✨

A huge mihi to Heidi Ashcroft (Nurse Educator) for guiding our taiohi through an important handwashing process before the journey began. From there, we explored the different departments where our tauira will soon undertake their shadowing experience.

This kaupapa is proudly delivered in partnership with Te Whatu Ora - Health NZ Taranaki 🤝

Ngā mihi nui to Te Whatu Ora Taranaki for creating these meaningful opportunities.