Kua Kotahi Tau: Noho Tahi, Waiata Tahi, Kōrero Tahi
Kua kotahi tau. It has been one year since our hapori have been coming together each Friday for karakia, waiata and whanaungatanga. The kaupapa began in 2025 during Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori. Our hapori in Treble Court wanted to create a space to celebrate te reo Māori together. Each day a different organisation hosted karakia, mihimihi, waiata and an activity for the community. Healthy Families East Cape had the privilege of hosting one of these days.
The response from the hapori was awesome, people showed up, participated and connected. What was intended as a one week celebration sparked an idea and the hapori thought why stop here?
Community karakia and waiata are now a regular occurence on a Friday. Every Friday a different organisation has stepped forward to host. Rain, hail or shine, the karakia have continued, with the support of Taike E!, who have made the Haututu Hacklab space available on colder days so the kaupapa can carry on.
One year on the kaupapa has grown beyond its original purpose. This years Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori had five new workplaces come together to host, including Te Kupenga Net Trust, Nolans Lawyers, Te Puna Reo o Puhi Kaiti, Whakaratonga Iwi Te Tairāwhiti Fire Service, alongside the wider hapori for our final karakia.
For Healthy Families East Cape, the value of this kaupapa sits in the conditions it creates for hauora. Connection to people, place, culture and whakapapa can contribute to a stronger sense of belonging and identity. Creating spaces where whānau can share te reo Māori, karakia and waiata together helps make those connections visible, normal and part of everyday life.
It is also an example of what systems change can look like in practice. Many organisations already practice karakia and waiata within their own workplaces. What is different here is the decision to come together across organisational boundaries and create something shared. Relationships are strengthening as organisations that may not usually work alongside one another now participate together. Practices are shifting as a one off Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori activity has become a regular Friday gathering. Leadership is shared, with different organisations taking turns to host rather than one organisation owning the kaupapa.
Coby Te Pairi of Te Whatu Ora Tairāwhiti describes this shift.
“The superpower of the Friday karakia and waiata is connection. We’re strengthening relationships, collaborating more, we’re able to see people for who they are and not just their roles. I’ve talked to a friend who has worked in Treble Court for 29 years who didn’t know their neighbours and that alone shows the power of what’s happening here. Now we see each other every Friday it’s easier to reach out to different organisations for tautoko, whether that’s a helping hand or pūtea. You feel more at home walking into each others spaces, and when we need help, or they need help, it’s easier to ask. We’re getting to know each others stories and whakapapa, Māori and non-Māori. Through that connection, we’ve even created a community kapa haka team.”
Behind this kaupapa is the important role of backbone support. Systems change rarely happens by itself. Someone needs to help hold the space, connect people, support relationships and create the conditions for a kaupapa to continue without taking ownership away from the hapori.
Over the past year, Hikitia Tane Ora, Te Whatu Ora Tairāwhiti and Taiki E! have played this role alongside the hapori and participating organisations. They have been significant in helping connect people, create opportunities for participation and support the kaupapa as it has grown. The role has not been to own the Friday karakia, but to help create the conditions for others to lead and for the kaupapa to become community-owned.
The kaupapa belongs to our hapori and perhaps the clearest evidence of impact is that it has continued. For a full year our hapori have continued to show up. Organisations have continued to open their doors, share their time, new workplaces have joined, and relationships have grown.
Noho tahi, waiata tahi, kōrero tahi. What began as a way to celebrate te reo Māori has become a regular opportunity for our hapori to come together, connect and share in a kaupapa that is bigger than any one organisation. The kaupapa has moved from one week to one year, from an activity to a shared practice, and from individual organisations to a connected hapori.