An appreciation of  Te Wānanga o Aotearoa kaupapa is one of the things that kaimahi who attended the Whāriki hui gained.

Whirikoka student support advisor Mona Lisa Smith believes wānanga sites everywhere would be “humming with even more positivity” if all kaimahi took on board the lessons learnt from the three-day induction noho at Ō-Tāwhao Marae, Te Awamutu in June.

Kaimahi slept in the wharenui built by foundation kaiako and tauira and spent time in the company of the “inspirational” Aunty Ma Panapa.

Facilitator Ruhia King says Te Whāriki is for all kaimahi “new and not-so-new”.

“The purpose of Te Whāriki is to provide a strong knowledge base of our principles and values to kaimahi so they can effectively participate with strength and passion as exemplars to uphold ngā uara (values) of our wānanga.”

On day one of the noho, only three of about 30 kaimahi from Tāmaki, Tainui, Te Awamutu, Rotorua, Whirikoka, Porirua and Ōtautahi knew the wānanga vision, values and principles.

Most kaimahi had an understanding that the wānanga was special but couldn’t properly define or express why this was so.

However, by the final day of Te Whāriki, all kaimahi had a strong understanding about the organisation’s uniqueness, its history and struggles.

To find out more about Te Whāriki and upcoming noho look for the image of Ō-Tāwhao Marae in Te Kete.

Te Whāraiki is only available to kaimahi of Te Wānanga o Aotearoa