Two rangatahi chosen for Tuia mentoring programme

From left Hastings councillor Ana Apatu, Jaevarn Tapine-Ngamotu, Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst, Kaysie Cornes, and Hastings District Council youth development coordinator Tara Black.

Two rangatahi have been selected for this year’s Tuia mayoral mentoring programme, designed to unleash the potential of young Māori.

Hastings mayor Sandra Hazlehurst met with the two young men, Kaysie Cornes, 20, and Jaevarn Tapine-Ngamotu, 20, recently and said she was looking forward to working with them in the year ahead.

“Being able to support rangatahi through Tuia is inspiring. I’m in the fantastic position where I get to support my Tuia grow in confidence and leadership as they build on their ambition and passion to make a difference to their whānau and community,” she said.

The Tuia programme is a nationwide initiative that sees mayors mentor young people with proven potential, aged between 18 and 25, to help develop and enhance the contribution they make to their community.

Kaysie is passionate about inspiring and supporting rangatahi to grow and reach their goals. He works at Te Aratika Academy teaching mau rakau or Māori weaponry, looking at self defence and the morals and values of te ao Māori.

“I love rangatahi and if I can inspire someone to do what they love then it’s worth the extra work and the late nights. I saw this programme and thought it looked like an awesome opportunity to learn skills, build networks, and make a difference in my community,” he said.

Jaevarn works at Hastings Probation, and sees the mahi as a way for him to support people in the community to move forward and build their lives from there.

“A colleague had been a Tuia and recommended it to me, and reading through the programme I felt it really strongly aligned with who I am. I want to use the learnings from this programme to collaboratively support my community,” he said.

“I’m excited to build networks and be a sponge to soak up ideas and energy from other rangatahi.”

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

Mayors select rangatahi Māori and meet with them monthly for both informal meetings and participation in formal occasions. This year, the Tuia will also receive mentoring from councillors Ana Apatu, Kellie Jessup, and Renata Nepe alongside Mrs Hazlehurst.

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

Find out more about the programme.

28 March 2023

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