In 2020 a small group of māmā (and a nannie) associated with the Mongrel Mob in Tūrangi contacted Literacy Aotearoa and asked for help. They had heard about work that Literacy Aotearoa was doing with Tūwharetoa and they hoped that the literacy organisation could reconnect their rangatahi with education and stem the terrifying tide of youth suicide.

Natasha Nicholson, who is the Literacy Aotearoa Cluster Manager, based in Taupō and covering literacy education from Tūrangi to Rotorua and Kawarau, says that the māmā were passionate about the need for change:

“They told us about all the young people that they knew who were not doing anything: not in training programmes, not working – and at the same time exposed to many negative influences. They did not want to lose one more of their babies to suicide. So the biggest impetus for them coming to us was fear about the future of their rangatahi.

“We started at the beginning of 2021 with a group of twelve, all connected, in an Intensive Literacy and Numeracy (ILN) programme. It was a whānau or intergenerational approach – from the nanny in her 60s to tamariki. Anyone who wanted to come was welcome. We turned no one away, even though they might have not all met the criteria for ILN funding. But that was ok. We would deliver to them as a whānau, keep to the conditions of the funding, and create a meaningful engagement for everyone.

“We ran the programme over three terms, every day of the week from 10pm to 4pm. Most came around 12.30 for kai.

“Rikihana Samuel was the tutor. He was able to create real learning opportunities for them. So for example, instead of reading about or being told about different kinds of measurements, he created opportunities for them to build things. Instead of learning maths from a workbook they used maths to build things and measure things.

“Because they were engaged, attendance was really good, and they were developing positive routines. Their brains were becoming switched on to learning. They were learning as a whānau. The younger ones loved being in that environment with teenagers and mātua – all in the same classroom. It was an environment that created a real synergy for learning. Everyone moved.

“And there was another factor that contributed to the success of the programme – the māmā themselves. They played a significant part in the way the rangatahi and tamariki lives were turned around. The māmā were the right vehicle, at the right time. They provided the momentum to get the programme going and we provided the tutor and the funding.”

Rikihana said that he was excited to work with the group:

“I have had 30 years as a youth worker, so I have a passion for young people, seeing them succeed and being able to navigate the teen years.

“Initially it was setting the foundations – whakawhanaungatanga, how they saw themselves, what skills they already had, where they’d like to be in the future. Some hadn’t thought about that. They were just surviving day to day, sleeping rough. Some had had aspirations when they were young, but schooling hadn’t worked for them so they thought, that’s not going to happen now.

“I worked on the barriers. The big thing at the beginning was to install a routine.

“Because the classroom had not worked for them, I used a lot of kinaesthetic and adventure-based learning where they learned communication skills and how to work in a group environment, rather than surviving on their own. So we did things like cooking, furniture making and other life skills.

“The māmā arranged with the harbour master for the course participants to be taken out onto the lake. They had never been on the lake before, they had swum in it, but never been on a big boat. They were helped to understand how the lake works and what they could do to look after their rohe. They were told about how the sediment blocks the creeks and what they could do to protect their environment. We did things like learning how to convert knots to kilometres. The guy that was taking us around was very knowledgeable about the geography and history and came across as a person who really wanted to look after the lake. He told them, ‘If we look after the lake, it will look after us – and give us water and kai. Like you guys. If you look after each other, you can help each other to live and grow. We need to look after what we have been given, especially as mana whenua.’

“Another thing that helped was te reo. A few were speakers, most were not – and they enjoyed learning the meanings of words and tikanga.

“They just enjoyed being together. And yes, the mothers were pivotal. They were the driving force. They had aspirations for their young people to achieve in life. And they learned too. Some of them had been struggling to help their tamariki with homework. That was a big vulnerability for them to overcome, but there was a definite shift, a big move as individuals as well as for the group.”

By the end of the first term, six rangatahi left the programme and moved into employment and two tamariki went back to school.

Unfortunately, and remorsefully, one went back to jail. Rikihana said that they spent some time discussing and working through this as well.

But the end of the first term also exposed a new issue to address – the numbers of tamariki from this community who were not in school.

“So we had a talk with the Ministry of Education,” says Natasha, “and by Term Three we had established a pilot programme with Te Aho o te Kura Pounamu – Te Kura, with six young ones registered on-line and provided with teacher aid support, with the hope of getting them back to school. There were 13–14 year-olds with just two years of schooling and some with no formal education. Their literacy levels were really low.

“We didn’t advertise or try and encourage people to come. From day one we had 24 people turn up to this class. It was intensive literacy and numeracy which includes basic life skills and work readiness. The content also included building healthy lifestyles.”

Unfortunately, Covid as well as the difficulties for the learners associated with distance learning, has meant that the pilot programme in collaboration with Te Kura has not yet achieved the levels of its expected outcomes. For this reason, the challenge remains.

Literacy Aotearoa knows that there have been some great outcomes, but the entire programme has yet to be evaluated – both in terms of the learning that happened, and the funding implications of the inclusive intergenerational model. That will be done at the end of the year.

Bronwyn Yates, Te Tumuaki Literacy Aotearoa, says she is incredibly proud of the successes accomplished in Tūrangi.

”In my conversations with Natasha and Rikihana, as well as with the Ministry of Education and Te Kura, I have been struck by the unifying kaupapa of everyone involved – the aroha ki te tangata, and the dedication they have shown in providing safe pathways for tamariki, rangatahi and pakeke, supporting their right to education and wellbeing.

“Our mission is about enabling people to reach their full potential. The māmā and their whānau have initiated this for themselves, and Literacy Aotearoa is an honoured partner in all that they have experienced and achieved.”