Ezekiel Raui is one of two New Zealand winners of the Queen's Young Leaders Awards. Photo/File
Ezekiel Raui is one of two New Zealand winners of the Queen's Young Leaders Awards. Photo/File
Ezekiel Raui is only 20 but he is already rethinking his life goals.
It's not because he has changed his mind. It's because the young Whatuwhiwhi man is already ticking them off.
Meet Barrack Obama - done; meet the Queen - that's happening next year. He also wanted to meet Martin Luther King Jr, Nelson Mandela, and Bob Marley but that might be a bit tricky.
"Now that I've ticked them off a lot earlier than I'd anticipated, or at all, I'll have to re think my life goals," he said.
Mr Raui is one of two New Zealand winners of the Queen's Young Leaders 2017 Awards.
He was nominated for his work around leadership and mental health and found out he had won the day before he flew to Rarotonga, making the trip even better.
"I don't think it will become a reality for me until I land in London. Right now I'm still pinching myself wondering whether or not it was a dream or I actually made it."
Mr Raui will receive the award from the Queen at a special ceremony at Buckingham Palace in June next year.
"I was quite nervous when I found out I had received the award. I was like 'they haven't mentioned anything but does that mean I can give her a hongi?' because I don't want to get arrested and tackled over in Buckingham Palace because I got too close to the Queen."
It's not the first time Mr Raui has met a world leader.
In 2015 he took part in the first White House United National Indian Tribal Youth (UNITY) conference where he met President Obama. This is one of Mr Raui's many achievements.
Ezekiel Raui has been working with comedian and mental health campaigner Mike King on Tu Kotahi. Photo/File
One of the projects he dedicated a lot of time to, when he is not studying a Bachelor of Business double-majoring in management and marketing, is Tu Kotahi - a peer-support programme led by young people.
Tu Kotahi was born on two pieces of paper after comedian and mental health campaigner Mike King spoke at Taipa Area School in 2013 following a cluster of suicides in 2012.
"Prior to that it was a business concept I was going to use for Young Enterprise Scheme. After looking at it I couldn't find a way to monetise it and I didn't want to. Mike showed up a couple of weeks later and we managed to work on that together," he said.
The Government has now committed to funding the programme in a pilot form. It will be rolled out in four schools across the country early next year.
"The whole experience for me has been humbling. But to see it come into fruition makes me really happy.
"It's great to see the youth voice as a collective is being empowered," Mr Raui said.
