2022 Kī o Rahi ki Raukawa

Lights have changed and Kī o Rahi is starting to pick back up whānau. We were fortunate to hear from Carle Hakaria of Tokoroa High School about a recent kaupapa they ran in Raukawa! So awesome what our communities are doing for our rangatahi and taonga tākaro. Tēnā koe Carle!

To bring light to youth week in the South Waikato, Aotearoa Wera Charitable Trust - Youth Services put together an opportunity for the youth to celebrate the week through Ki o Rahi.

The week consisted of Ki o Rahi workshops, where Wera went into each of the High Schools - Putaruru College, Forest View High School, and Tokoroa High providing students an introduction to this taonga takaro.

These workshops led to Friday’s - “Ki o Rahi ki Raukawa” - The South Waikato Secondary School Ki o Rahi Tournament. Each High School put in two teams and battled it out for local bragging rights. While it was a competition, the atmosphere was one of whakawhanaungatanga and seeing the rangatahi interact through a common cause.

The tournament was a success and a great way to celebrate youth week. The day finished with both Tokoroa High School teams making the finals and the senior team taking the tournament.

All this could have not been possible without Wera’s lead in the kaupapa and
supporting organisations (South Waikato YMCA, Oranga Tamariki & Raukawa Vibes).

To have the South Waikato youth embrace Ki o Rahi during the week was the winner. To see the youth get actively involved and love it…..just shows that our game is heading in the right direction.