Approach encompasses learnings from the journeys of our tupuna so long ago.
Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
Click here for English translation E toimaha rukiruki ana ngā pokowhiwhi, e whati ana ngā turi i te nanapitanga o te tini tangata ka huri ō tātou tūpuna ki te takapou o Ranginui kia tōhua mai e ngā atua me pēwhea e tika ai te wairua o te tangata nō rātou i Hāwaiki.
Ka wānangangia ngā take ka toko ake te whakaaro kia whakawhiti atu ētehi ki te whenua momona i kitea ai e Kupe, e Māui, ka wehe e whitu o ngā waka. Ka arahina rātou e te huetāpori, ka nui te moana ki muri ka iti te moana ki mua ka ū mai ki Aotearoa.
Me rangatira e toa ai te ngākau, kāua mā te taupiore, kāua mā te kākākura nō roto i te pōkaitara māna tana ake huarahi, waiho kia haere ana. Ki te whati tētehi o ngā hoe ka totohu te waka, mātua me whakapono ngākau tika katoa ai ngā tangata ki te kaupapa e whakahaerengia nei, tinana mai, wairua mai. E hoki ai ki te pepehā e mea nei, mā pango, mā whero e oti ai.
Ae, ka riri ētehi, ae, ka tū ngā tukemata o ētehi, ka roa rātou e hoe ana e noho kikī ana, ka anipā te wairua, nā reira ka whai take ai a Rongo-mau ki a houhia ngā wairua whati kia ora ai te iwi.
Ko te mauri ora ko te Whakamana Tangata, ko te whakatairanga i te mana o te tangata. Ka āwhangia ai te iwi, ka huri anō ngā tangata ki ngā tini whetū, ki a tātou koia ko ēnei, ko te Mana, ko te Tapu, ko te Mauri Ora me te Ara Tikanga.
Kua tīpakongia e Oranga Tamariki ēnei akoranga a ngā tūpuna hai arahitanga mā rātou e hakoke nei i te ara o te ture me te haumanu tangata. Ka toko ake te whakaaro kia tuatahingia ai te kaupapa a Whakamana Tangata ki Te Maioha o Parekārangi, he whare manaaki tangata e tū nei ki te taha tonga o Rotorua kai te huarahi e haere atu ai ki Ātiamuri. Ko Aneta Mihinui te Kaiwhakatere o Whakamana Tangata.
Koia tētehi o ngā pou matua o te tīmā-a-Motu rangatira nei. E kaha tautokongia nei tēnei kaupapa hou me te hiahia ki te whakatō i Whakamana Tangata ki ngā Whare haumanu rangatahi e rima. Ko Aneta te ūpoko o tētehi pahi tokorima e tere nei me tēnei kaupapa.
Kua waha kē noa atu tēnei kaupapa e Aneta i ngā huihuinga huhua o te motu mai te hiku ki te pane, mai tētehi paihau o te motu, ki tētehi atu paihau, waihoki i whai wāhi ai ia ki te whakakōrero i Whakamana Tangata i te hui Australasian Youth Justice i te tau ko pahemo. I whakatōngia ai tēnei kakanō whakaharahara nōna i tētehi hui rangatira o Te Maioha i te tau e rua mano, kotahi tekau mā waru.
"Kotahi ngāhuru ngā tangata i te hui nei, tokotoru noa iho he Māori, i tonoa arohangia ai tokorua o māua ki te hui". Ka rere te pātai a Aneta, ka whia te roa ki te hui Whakamana Tangata, nā te mea he mahi tūturu hoki tāna.
"Ko te whakautu ki taku pātai ko tēnā hui anake. Ko te wairua o te hui ki ahau, he mea ketuketu kau i ōu mātou whakaaro , e weta! Ka hinga ngā tau e toru, kai tāua hui tonu ahau e noho ana!"
Koia ko tēnā te hui tuatahi ka kī atu a Aneta( Nō Tūhourangi he Ngāti Wāhiao, he Ngāti Whakaue he Ngāti Tahu hoki) " tēnā koe e hoa mā, engari rā!" kāore tonu a Aneta e whakaae ki a whakaurua tēnā whakaaro ki tana wāhi mahi, nā te mea hai tāna e kawea kētia ana tēnā kaupapa e rātou.
"Kātahi ka pakeketia ahau ki te tikanga o te kupu, haumanu, ki raro tonu i te mana o te kāhui whetū nā mātou tonu i whakamanangia, ka mātau ai ahau ki te wehi pai o tēnei kaupapa ki a mātou ngā kaimahi otīā te rangatahi hoki ka whakahuri ōku whakaaro ki a pai ai".
Nā Tanya-Maree Tūwhāngai ( Nō Waikato, Tainui waka), rātou ko Russell Ihaka (He Ngāti Rangiwewehi) ko Dr Mike Ross (Ngati Haua) ko Everard Halbert (Rongowhakaata, Ngati Tama, Ngati Whiti) ko Greg Jansen, koLisa-Jane Rogers, ko Dr Tom Noakes-Duncan, ko Darryl Gardiner, ko Ashley, Seaford, ko Stuart Colaco (graphic designer) me Aneta a Whakamana Tangata I whakawhanake. Ko te kaupapa nui ki a Aneta ko te whakamōhio atu ki te iwi, ehara a Whakamana Tangata i tētehi kaupapa, tētehi hōtaka ka tikina noatia e tīwawe kau ana te waka – ehara! He oranga kau – nā, ko aua whetū i kōrerongia koia ko ngā pou arahi i a koe"
Whai muri i tana whakarewatanga i Te Maioha ka kawea a Whakamana Tangata ki ērā atu o ngā kāinga o te motu. Ka whakatūngia he kaiwhakaue ki ia kāinga, māna a Whakamana Tangata e waha, māna tēnei kaupapa e pīkau, e tū hoki nei hai pou awhina i ngā kaimahi o aua kāinga.
Kua rau noa atu ngā tangata e mātau nei ki tēnei kaupapa ināianei, me te mea hoki kua tūīa a Whakamana Tangata ki te kaupapa Te Waharoa, he kaupapa whakatau manuwhiri, tauhou ki ngā kāinga. He ahakoa kua kōwhatungia tēnei kaupapa ki ngā kāinga ko te mahi uaua mā ētehi ko te takahi i te ara o te ao Māori. Ko te whakarewatanga o tēnei kaupapa i puta mai o te wā o te māuiui korona nā reira i āta whakaritea e mātou ētehi tikanga kia haumaru ai ngā tangata, nā ēnei ka hua mai anō he taumahatanga, me te ānīnī i whakahakeke ai ngā kaimahi. Kāti, kia tuaruangia e ahau te kōrero, kua kowhātungia tēnei kaupapa, ināianei ko te whakaaraara pouhuriropa kia mārō ai te tū.
I āta tūpato mai hoki ētehi o ngā niho roa ki a Whakamana Tangata i runga i te mōhiotanga e whia kē ngā kaupapa kua toromī kētia, he tokoiti ka ora. E hoki ana ki ōna whakaaro tuatahi me ētehi atu o ngā kaimahi, tērā ētehi o rātou kai te huarahi noa e haere ana.
"Ko te painga o te mahi tahi me ētehi kai te puku o te hīnaki e mahi ana, kua wāia kē māua ki a māua, kua mōhiohio kē māua ki a māua i runga i te āhuatanga o te mahi nā reira ka māmā ake ai – ka kī atu ahau kia tae mai koe ki te hui me tuwhera te hinengaro ki ngā kōrero, me noho puku, me moe rongo, nā te mea ko kore rātou e kitea ngā hua i te wā itiiti noa. Kia pērā rawatia tātou ki ngā tūpuna, me whakapono ki te kaupapa, me kaha ki te hoe e pōteretere ai tō tātou waka.
"Nōna e whakatikatika ana i Whakamana Tangata e mahi tonu ana ia i Te Maioha hai ūpoko mō tana tīmā.
"Ko te Hūrae, e rua mano kotahi tekau mā waru te tau, ka tīmatangia te whakaaraara i tēnei waka, ko te Tīhema o taua tau tonu , ko te wānanga akoako tuatahi mā Te Maioha. Koina te pūtawenga o tēnei waka. Nā te mea i whakatōpūngia ngā mātauranga, i uaua ai i te wehenga o ētehi o ngā poumahi, i uaua ai ki te whakaū me te whakatō i ngā akoranga".
I oti noa ngā wānanga i te tau e rua mano kotahi mā iwa te tau.
"Ko te pae tawhiti mōku me tēnei mahi ko te whakaaranga ake o tētehi ahurea e ngātahi ai ngā tangata katoa. Kia mahi kē mātou ngā kaimahi me te rangatahi, ka tukuna mā ngā whetū tātou e arahi – he pōhēhē nō ētehi ko te mahi tahi me te rangatahi, kia tika hoki, me tāti kē i a mātou.
"Ki te kore e tāea ki a rangatira te tū e mātou, ka kore e heke iho tēnei wairua ki ngā kaimahi, waihoki ki te rangatahi! Ehara tēnei i te matā hiriwā e tika katoa ai tō tātou taiao me te rangatahi, whoi anō, ko te ara taiahoaho tēnei ki te puna o Aewa".
This is the visual narrative that Aneta and her team use to describe all aspects of their mahi.
I mua i te whakaūnga o te wāhanga tuarua ka wānanga tahi me ngā poumahi. Kotahi tekau mā rua o ngā tau a Aneta e mahi nei i tāna mahi he tūponotanga ohorere hoki.
"Kua tika kē taku haere ki Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato, nā, ka māuiui tōku māmā ka hoki mai ahau ki te kāinga ki te poipoi ki te atawhai i a ia.
"Ka hemo taku Māmā, ka noho noa ahau mō ngā mārama e ono, e whakamomori ana. Tērā tētehi taima e kōrero tahi ana māua ko te whakaahua o taku māmā, ka kī atu ki a ia, tēnā – kua rahi! Kua mutu e mā, me hoki mai ahau ki te ao mārama. Kua nanao atu taku ringa ki te nūpepa ko te mea tuatahi i kītea e ōku kanohi ki tētehi pānuitanga, e kimi poumahi ana hai manaaki i te rangatahi i Te Maioha – nā koia tēnā".
"Ka nui te kūaretanga ki a ia me tana mahi hou nei he ahakoa he ika-a-Whiro kē tōna matua tāne ki tēnei ao." I pai taku whakatupu, ka nui taku kūare ki ngā whare pēnei, ki ngā kāinga pēnei, he ahakoa he tauwhiro taku matua tāne. E mahara ana ahau ki taku wānanga tuatahi, taku heahea hoki, e rua mā tahi noa taku pakeke.
Kātahi hoki, he ao hou – e noho nei me ngā rangatahi me ō rātou wairua kaha, kātahi ahau ka mōhio he mahi nui kai te haere".
Ka hinga he tau i a ia, ka tupu anō te aroha ki tana mahi me tana ngākau whiwhita ki tana huarahi haere, ngātahi hoki me tana whakapakari i a ia ki te mātauranga me ngā hua ka taka noa ki a ia.
"Ko te tiaki rangatahi hara taku mahi tuatahi ka pau i ahau te ono o ngā mārama ka rere atu ahau ki Ahitereiria mō tētehi wā paku noa. Taku hokitanga mai ki Te Maioha mahi ai ko taku tūnga hai poumahi itiiti, nā wai rā ka piki atu ki taku tūnga hai rangatira hūnuku. Ka haere ngā tau ka pātaia ahau hai rangatira whakahaere-a-tīma i runga i tētehi kirimana poto, kātahi ka tūturungia ai."
"Āianei kai te taumata tuakana ahau me taku mahi, mō tō hakoke hāereere noa ki ngā kāinga huhua me te atawhai me te tiaki i ngā Kaiwhakaue.
Kai te wiki e wānanga ana, he mahi akoako, he mahi poipoi, ko tētehi mea nui whakaharahara ko te whakahono atu ki ngā mātanga nui o te ao haumanu manatika nō Aotearoa me Ahitereiria hoki, e rua anō ngā rōpū ka āta kītea a hui topa hai ia koata o te tau, he wā whakawhitiwhiti kōrero, whakawhitiwhiti whakaaro hoki , tūturu mei kore taku hoa rangatira e kore e tāea e ahau te whakatutuki i ēnei kaupapa rearea, ko ia te pou o taku manawa".
Ka nui te whakaihiiihi nei o tō Aneta whatumanawa me tēnei kaupapa a Whakamana Tangata me te whakakitenga āna i ngā kura huna a pae tawhiti.
Our tupuna looked to the stars for guidance in finding a new home when things got tough and over-crowded in Hawaiiki.
After much korero, several waka set out, trusting in their skilled navigators to deliver them safely to a new world.
The stars guided them across the uncharted waters of Papatuanuku's largest ocean, Te Moananui A Kiwa, until landfall at what is now called Aotearoa. It was a journey for neither the faint-hearted nor for those determined to forge their own path.
Without total co-operation the voyage was doomed to failure. It was tough but doable. And everybody had to be on board with the kaupapa, not just physically but spiritually too.
Each wayfarer had to know that their contribution was as good as, and as valuable as, every other traveller's.
Conflict was a natural occurrence in such close confines, so restoring peace had to be completed calmly. The abiding principle for those voyages was Whakamana Tangata, upholding the mana of the individual.
And when things seemed overwhelming, look to the stars. They are: Mana, Tapu, Piringa, Mauri Ora and Ara Tikanga.
Oranga Tamariki has adopted a Māori-informed restorative justice practice approach encompassing those learnings from the journeys of our tupuna so long ago. It was proposed to have Whakamana Tangata piloted at Te Maioha o Parekarangi Youth Justice Residence, just south of Rotorua on the road to Atiamuri.
Kaiwhakatere o Whakamana Tangata is Aneta Mihinui. She is part of the National Residential Leadership Team and supports the embedding of Whakamana Tangata into the 5 Youth Justice Residences, leading a team of five Kaiwhakaue whose mission is to implement and fully embed it.
She has facilitated training to hundreds of staff across the country and has also had the opportunity to present Whakamana Tangata to an international audience during the Australasian Youth Justice Conference late last year.
The seeds for Aneta were planted at a Te Maioha leadership team meeting in 2018.
"Of the 10 of us only three were Māori. Two of us were volunteered to go."
Aneta questioned how much time would be required of them to attend the hui about Whakamana Tangata as she still had her everyday mahi to consider.
"The response I got was that it will likely only be that one meeting as they just wanted a bit of input from representatives from the residence. Three years later, I'm still in that meeting".
At that first hui, Aneta (Tuhourangi, Ngati Wahiao, Ngati Whakaue, Ngati Tahu), originally said "thanks but no thanks" to a proposal that the restorative approach be introduced, as she believed the workforce already practiced in this way.
"It wasn't until I gained a better understanding of what being restorative really meant, especially under the guidance of the whetū we had agreed upon as a team, that I knew how much of a positive impact this way of being would have on both the kaimahi and rangatahi we work with."
The team that designed Whakamana Tangata was Tanya-Maree Tuwhangai (Waikato Tainui), Russell Ihaka (Ngati Rangiwewehi), Dr Mike Ross (Ngati Haua), Everard Halbert (Rongowhakaata, Ngati Tama, Ngati Whiti), Greg Jansen, Lisa-Jane Rogers, Dr Tom Noakes-Duncan, Darryl Gardiner, Ashley, Seaford, Stuart Colaco (graphic designer) and Aneta.
Aneta wants people to understand that Whakamana Tangata is not a framework, programme, or something that you just "pick up and use when things aren't going too well".
"It's a way of being — being guided by those whetū."
After its successful pilot at Te Maioha, Whakamana Tangata was introduced to the other Residences. A Kaiwhakaue was appointed at each Residence to support and champion Whakamana Tangata and to be a person that kaimahi could go to with questions.
Hundreds of kaimahi have now been trained and continue to receive refresher training. Whakamana Tangata is also woven into the Residential induction programme, Te Waharoa, to ensure that everyone who joins the workforce is trained.
Across the residences, staff have embraced Whakamana Tangata enthusiastically although some had to learn more about the concepts and walking in Te Ao Māori than others. The rollout coinciding with COVID also had an impact as keeping themselves and the young people they work with safe has meant extra processes and pressure for kaimahi.
However, it is now established and the team are working on how to build on that solid foundation.
Among the obstacles to introducing and embedding Whakamana Tangata was that many staff has been with the organisation for so long and were cynical that it would succeed because they had seen so many other programmes that failed. Aneta also noted the amount of kaimahi who shared her early thoughts about the workforce already working in that way.
"One of the positives about having someone who has come from the floor deliver the trainings is that I'm able to relate to the kaimahi and their thinking and share my experience of thinking that way myself at some point. I ask them to attend the training with an open mind and then have patience after it as they won't understand or see changes straight away. Just like our tupuna, we must keep paddling along together to keep our waka afloat".
While developing and rolling out the training for Whakamana Tangata, Aneta was still in her main role as Team Leader at Te Maioha.
"It was July 2018 when we started development and that December was the first training for Te Maioha and we started piloting it there. Because it was in one unit, staff turnover made it a bit difficult to implement the learnings properly."
"My goal for this mahi would be the creation of a relational culture among staff which would also entail a culture shift. For us as kaimahi to start working with each other and rangatahi rather than doing things to or for people and to have the whetū guide every interaction we have and decisions we make.
"Everyone has always thought that this was just about how we work with rangatahi, but it has to start with us. If we can't role model this way of being from a leadership space, through to our kaimahi, then what hope do we have of it filtering down to our rangatahi.
"This isn't the silver bullet to our environment or the rangatahi that we work with, but it is a step in the right direction"
Before implementing the next phase, staff will be consulted and their input sought.
Aneta is entering her 12th year in Youth Justice Residences and only came into it as an after-thought.
"I was going to Waikato University but then Mum got crook and I came home to look after her.
"After she died, I sort of sat around for six months wasting my life. One day, I was looking at her photo and said to her, ok enough is enough mum, time for me to do something with my life. I grabbed the paper and the first thing I saw was the advert for youth workers at Te Maioha and the rest is history."
Aneta had no real idea what the job involved even though her father, Roku, had been a social worker and probation officer.
"I had a good upbringing and didn't even realise these facilities existed, even though my dad was a Social Worker, I had no real understanding of what his job entailed. I remember my first day of induction training at Te Maioha as a naive 21-year-old.
"It was an eye-opening experience that involved being in a unique kind of workplace, with teenagers whose behaviour and ways of relating to each other could be quite challenging." Aneta recalls how her passion for her mahi has grown stronger over time and the professional development opportunities has matched that growth.
"I started as a Youth Worker and after 6 months I left for Australia for a short time. When I returned, I went back to Te Maioha as a Casual Youth Worker before moving into a permanent Shift Leader role. A few years later, I was asked to step into the Team Leader Operations position on a short-term contract, but then this was made permanent too.
"Now I find myself in a Senior Leadership Role that involves quite a bit of travelling as I make my way around to the Residences to support the Kaiwhakaue in their roles of maintaining and sustaining our mahi by providing weekly snapshot training sessions, coaching, and mentoring I have also been able to make connections with restorative experts across New Zealand and Australia, there are 2 different groups that I get to catch up with quarterly via zoom where we share experiences and learn from each other.
"All of this has been made easier for me with the constant help and understanding of my supportive partner."
Aneta looks forward to continuing her journey with Whakamana Tangata and is excited to see how this mahi impacts on kaimahi and rangatahi.
