Awhina School/Activity Centre staff and students and with staff from Hamills Rotorua. Photo / Supplied
Awhina School/Activity Centre staff and students and with staff from Hamills Rotorua. Photo / Supplied
A local school is enjoying helping students to gain new, exciting life skills while getting the community involved.
Awhina School/Activity Centre is in its second year of running its Mana Tane/Mana Wahine programme.
The school is an intervention educational facility, which aims to support students overcome their learning, social or behavioural barriers, and facilitate their return back to mainstream schooling or onto further education.
Awhina Activity Centre director Kairo McLean says the school is about providing the students with life skills and tools to make positive, healthy choices.
He says as a means to engage and teach the boys and girls valuable life, social and educational skills, they run the Mana Tane and Mana Wāhine programme once per week.
The aims of the programmes are to support youth to become strong, positive role models for their community, to develop knowledge and skills in hunting, gathering and preparing kai, and to create future-focused pathways.
One of the recent Mana Tane programme trips included a fishing trip to Thornton.
Kairo says splitting off into separate groups with their male and female staff allowed the students to let down their guards, express joy, and have fun while learning new skills and having positive new life experiences.
"Nine out of 11 boys had never been fishing prior to the programme. Seeing their huge smiles when landing a fish is just priceless and very rewarding."
Students enjoy catching fish on a fishing trip to Thornton. Photo / Supplied
These programmes are funded by RECT and Bay Trust Grants, and sponsored by local businesses such as McDonald's Rotorua, Pita Pit Rotorua and Polynesian Spa.
The centre is supported annually by RECT and MSD contracts.
Recently the team at Hamills Rotorua supported the programmes by donating warm clothing, and fishing rods and equipment for the students to use to learn valuable life skills.
Stitch N Print Rotorua also sponsored the printing of their uniforms and graduate T-shirts.
Kairo says, "It's so humbling as the director of Awhina School to have the support from the numerous community organisations to help tautoko our rangatahi into making positive life choices, learn new skills and recognising the importance of 'doing the mahi and getting the treats'."
He thinks it is important for the community to be aware of the work the school does because it is an essential part of the educational community of Rotorua.
It supports referrals from four Rotorua high schools to upskill and provide individualised programmes for each student.
"Awhina prides its centre on being a place of not only learning but also a place of healing and reconnecting students to educational pathways."
Hamills Rotorua says the programme was one worth getting behind, and that it was in line with the business as an outdoor store.
It believes young people learning these sorts of practical skills is important.
BayTrust chief executive Alastair Rhodes says, "BayTrust is really proud to have been able to support the Kaupapa Māori Mana Tane and Mana Wahine programmes at the Awhina Activity Centre, as they develop and equip rangatahi with self-esteem, self-awareness, self-respect and self-management skills to help deal with the complex and challenging world we are in."
