Te Tohu o Te Ora o Ngāti Awa

12/10/2025

Rukuhia Tū Te Puehu Pre-Trades – Construction & Civil Works Cohort Two Has Officially Kicked Off!

We’re excited to announce that our second Pre-Trades cohort has begun their 10-week journey with Rukuhia Te Mahi. The programme launched with a whakatau to welcome our new tauira, who are now working through the theory phase-including Construction training with Vertical Horizonz and modules focused on employability skills.

As the programme progresses, tauira will transition into work placements with our valued industry partners: Beulah, SABRE, Waiotahi Contractors and Glenns Glass.

These placements are a key part of their development, offering on-job training, practical experience to support their BCITO Unit Standards and the chance to build strong industry connections for future career pathways.

07/10/2025

Kia ora e hoa mā,

We are under the influence of Rākaunui during the day, which rose yesterday at 7.32pm and we will be under its influence until 8.49pm this evening.
We are in te Rima o Kōpu. Kōpu is Venus, and in the east you will see Kōpu in the predawn just above where the sun rises.

Energy at its most powerful – a good time for competition, to pitch ideas and to communicate…


Ko te mata o Rākaunui ka tū a te pō, tae noa ki te awatea. He rā pai rawa. Makuru ana ngā kai. Mena ka waatea ā ka tau te huarere, e p**a atu ki te moana, ki te ngahere rānei katahi ka matomato, ka kai rari noa mai a uta, ka pūkahu hoki a tai. E p**a ki te huti, ki te hī, ki te hao, kia ranea ai te pātaka kai. He pai mō te hī ika, engari kaua mō te hī tuna.

At Rākaunui, the marama has come through the Tangaroa and Tāne Mahuta moons. Those two atua remind us that after the death of the moon at the time of Whiro, the marama then bathes in Te Wai ora o Tāne to be restored to life, youth and beauty at Rākaunui. Another tradition purported to be from Ngāi Tūhoe and linked to this idea of the moon dying and being reborn, is that the moon is the real husband of all women notemea kai te matenga o te marama, ka paheke te wahine (because, on the death of the moon are women ill). In that sense, our human relationships are often a momentary passing phase, but the link with the moon, with the environment is enduring for generations!

Rākaunui is the full moon. Your energy is peaking – this week you can be all guns blazing, so invest that round your whare, with your whānau and at your workplace too! If you’re feeling unsettled, anxious, have been disagreeable and argumentative, that is also part of this Rākaunui because of the heightened energy. It is important to release your energy, so push yourself in terms of wairua, hinengaro, ngākau, whānau and tinana. It is starting to warm up, the soil is rich with nutrients and water. The weather looks reasonable, and it is a good week for growth in our pastures and gardens. Push yourself because sometimes you need a time when you find your limits: go for a long run, take an extra set of stairs, aim to complete today. Work at something that has meaning to you.

01/10/2025

He Tūranga Mahi!

Applications are currently open for two exciting opportunities to join our team.

We are looking for a passionate Social Worker in Schools and Intake Coordinator. Applicants must have a Social Work qualification and registration with the Social Work Registration Board or, be on the pathway to achieving their Social Work degree.

For more information or to apply for these roles:
https://www.seek.co.nz/job

27/08/2025

Ngā mihi nui SunFM1065.
Thank you for your generous lunch shout!
Your manaakitanga was deeply appreciated by our team. 🥪

26/08/2025

He rā whakahirahira!

Today we celebrate the graduation of 7 outstanding tauira who have completed 4 weeks of classroom learning and 4 weeks of placement within the Iwi Alliance, as part of Rukuhia Te Mahi - Work Connect, Tu Te Puehu programme.

This kaupapa has not only built skills and confidence — it has opened doors to future opportunities in meaningful mahi across the rohe.

To our tauira - your journey is just beginning. The dust has been stirred, and your path forward is full of potential.

He taonga te mātauranga, he taonga hoki koutou! Karawhiua!

13/08/2025

Last week, we had the privilege to host the Chief Executive of Oranga Tamariki, Andrew Bridgman and Hon Karen Chhour, Minister for Children. Their visit was an opportunity for us to share the journey of Te Pukaea and Te Reo Karanga — kaupapa that are gently reshaping the way Oranga Tamariki engages with our whānau in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.

These initiatives are not ours alone, they are the result of many hands, hearts, and voices working together to ensure that the "front door" of Oranga Tamariki reflects the uara and tikanga of our Iwi.

We are grateful for the space to kōrero openly, to reflect on the progress made, and to look ahead at how we can continue to strengthen this partnership for the wellbeing of our tamariki and mokopuna.

He waka eke noa.

24/07/2025

Strengthening Pathways for Iwi: A Milestone in Partnership and Empowerment

Today marks a pivotal moment in the enduring partnership between Te Tohu o Te Ora o Ngāti Awa and Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi. The formal signing of this agreement signifies a shared commitment to empowering whānau through training, employment, and holistic wellbeing.
Under the Rukuhia te Mahi – Workforce Development initiative, we are proud to launch the Level 2 Certificate in Health and Wellbeing, delivered through the Tū Te Puehu "Work Ready" Hauora Navigator Program. Now accredited by Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi, this program ensures culturally grounded, high-quality training tailored to the needs of our communities.
Our tauira have already begun their journey, gaining essential skills that will lead to meaningful careers in hauora (health), social services, and building construction—sectors vital to the wellbeing and development of our people.
This initiative is more than a training opportunity; it is a cornerstone of a broader kaupapa focused on affordable housing, employment pathways, and community resilience. Today’s signing not only strengthens our strategic collaboration but reaffirms our unwavering dedication to placing Iwi at the heart of everything we do.

28/06/2025

Yesterday we hosted the Te Puna Aonui team from Wanganui a Tara. They are a part of a cross government collaboration with joint accountability for the National strategy Te Aorerekura which sets out a new collective path for government, tangata whenua and communities to eliminate family and sexual violence.

While we were sharing our Te Pukaea - Enabling Communities prototype, and how Ngati Awa can progress our “safe and healthy” homes initiatives Minister Chhour announced that the name Te Puna Aonui will no longer be used and the legal name of “Executive Board for the Elimination of Family Violence and Sexual Violence” will be adopted instead.

Chhour also said it was the Government’s policy that departments, except those focused on Māori, will have their main names in English.

As an Iwi organisation we will be doubling down on tikanga tuku iho, the use of our reo, uphold our values whakapapa and purakau. These changes while disheartening and disappointing are more of a distraction that we cannot afford to buy into as the trajectory of family harm in our rohe continues to increase.

Ngati Awa will be working closely with Te Puna Aonui to keep whanau safe, stopping violence, protecting tamariki and rangatahi, strengthening our workforce and taking action on sexual violence and preventing violence before it starts.

We are looking forward to developing our new strategic relationship with Te Puna Aonui.

27/06/2025

Today our organisation had the privilege of hosting the Governor General Dame Cindy Kiro and His Excellency Richard Davies.

17/06/2025

Tā mātou Hautapu

17/06/2025

Te Pou Mataaho wānanga, Te Pāroa Marae. "Whiro ki te pō, Taiwhakaea ki te ao"

15/06/2025