It was drafted by Sharon Davis, Sharyn Roberts, Jordi Butters, Jono Campbell and Dr Mike Ross and inspired by Te Ora Hou Aotearoa.
Tohatoha draws on 30+ years of youth work practised by a multitude of Te Ora Hou youth workers in urban communities throughout Aotearoa, also sourced from the experiences and knowledge of Māori working in the youth development space. Tohatoha draws on the richness of Te Ao Māori in practical ways to support working with rangatahi.
TOHATOHA means to share, disperse and distribute, lovingly and wisely. It is an intentional generosity based in positive relationships to unlock the potential within young people.
Utilising Kaupapa Māori principles of development, Tohatoha acknowledges the journey of Tamariki tū Taitamariki tū Rangatahi tū Rangatira.
“Tamariki tū Rangatira” – known in Positive Youth Development as the journey from me to we. For Māori this journey is developmental, weaving connections through life’s opportunities and barriers. Scattered throughout this journey are the ‘islands’ of life that are to be navigated in order to stay on course to realising their potential and finding their Rangatira space.
The Tamariki stage acknowledges that every child has potential and purpose, and has a right to grow and fulfil their potential. [3]
The Taitamariki/Taiohi stage acknowledges the progression beyond the tamariki stage, where the individual is now exploring their potential and learning about their identity. [4]
The Rangatahi stage is the developmental stage where the individual is becoming self-aware of their emerging potential.
The Rangatira stage is the maturing of potential, where the individual is able to invest, weave into others in ways that allows them to discover their potential and purpose.
The space between each stage is often uncomfortable and one of challenge. It is not a simple linear process and we can occupy different stages at one time in different contexts. [5]
The transition between each stage is characterised by the kupu Māori, tū which means to stand. In this context tū acknowledges that success in each stage gives mana to stand, propelling the individual into the next stage.
Similarly, Tamariki tū Rangatira [6] is an incremental learning journey that is comparable to a child learning to roll, to crawl, to walk, to run, and to interact with the collective through those stages (tū = stand, with courage, confidence, we want our young people to be able).
In order to support the journey of Tamariki tū Rangatira we need to “rongo” [7] to the worlds of young people and kōrero by asking the questions:
- Where - Ahunga? What direction are you facing? Where have we/they come from? Where are we going? (purpose and destination).
- Who - Ko wai? Who will support young person on this stage of the journey? As Māori we ask “Ko wai au, Ko wai koe, Ko wai tātou?” (Who am I? Who are you? Who are we?), to understand how we are connected, our place and our role.
- What - Āheinga? What is possible now and in the future? What do I know and what do I need to know (knowledge/ mātauranga), to undertake the next stage of the journey?
Ina kei te mōhio koe ki a koe, i ahu mai koe i hea, kei te mōhio koe, kei te ahu atu ki hea.
If you know who you are and where you are from, then you will know where you are going.
