Te Kai a te Rangatira: One Year of Growing Leadership at Healthy Families East Cape
Te Kai a te Rangatira is a transformative leadership journey that over the past year has cultivated authentic Māori leadership, grounded in mātauranga Māori, whanaungatanga, and kaupapa Māori practice. With Dr Teah Carlson guiding us, every wānanga became a space to weave aroha, healing, creativity, and strategy. From the outset, this kaupapa has been bigger than simply building individual leaders, it’s been about strengthening our collective capability to support systems change alongside our hapori.
“We’ve built a high-trust environment, knowing that real innovation and prevention mahi starts with leading ourselves, being open to vulnerability and committed to doing the deep work.” Dr Teah Carlson.
Throughout this journey, our kaimahi have faced rites of passage that challenged and inspired. We’ve developed leadership affirmations, built portfolios, and embraced creative and cultural challenges, taonga puoro, waiata, maramataka, hei tiki, and rongoā.
“Don’t be pushed by your problems, be driven by your dreams.” Says Te Ao Hou Trust Whānau Ora Navigator Shaun Gebert.
Many of us spoke about the power of stories and their ability to drive genuine change when shared authentically. One story from our wānanga that will never leave us was a kaumātua stranded by the tides while gathering parengo, forced to leave his catch and swim to shore, pants lost but life intact. We listened intently, drawing lessons for policy, tikanga-based decision-making, maramataka, intervention ideas, and reviews through both a medical and mātauranga Māori lens. Whānau voice and lived experience truly sit at the heart of prevention.
For some, stepping into the Te Kai a te Rangatira space brought nerves, but as each person shared, honesty and gratitude grounded the kaupapa.
Both Te Ao Hou Trust Administrator Susan Woods and Whānau Ora Navigator Kym Hudson stated that they were “Nervous being here, but everyone has been so lovely and welcoming. We’ve really felt part of the whānau.”
At times, our wānanga were emotionally and mentally confronting, but we backed each other, arriving as our true selves and working together to navigate the tough moments.
Every wānanga was co-created around individual needs, interests, and skills. Special guests were invited in, sharing expertise and growing our collective toolkit.
“Leadership to me is not a position, it’s a practice, it’s a service. It is remembering who we are and where we come from, while creating space for others to rise in their own mana.” Rautaki Māori Jade Kameta
We learned that genuine systems change is grounded in people, whakapapa, and whānau aspirations. These connections were deepened again last month when our lead provider Te Ao Hou Trust joined us for kai, kōrero, and whanaungatanga.
“Whanaungatanga, engagement across the dinner table, good kōrero, and being together was a great example of how we should be as a team.” Linda Steel, Te Ao Hou Trust CEO.
Amidst the laughter and reflection, profound whakaaro on legacy and intergenerational responsibility emerged.
Te Ao Hou Trust Whānau Ora Navigator Memory Mio restated the wise kupu of Dame Whina Cooper “Take care of our children. Take care of what they hear. Take care of what they see. For how the children grow, so will the shape of Aotearoa.”
“We are the vessels between our tīpuna and our mokopuna. What are we going to do now, and what will we leave behind for them? Keep an eye on the past to move forward.” says Jade Kameta.
Communications Advisor for Te Ao Hou Trust, Mamera Patchett, captured our aspirations: “I want our tamariki to witness the reclaiming of something that has and always been, to grow up knowing that our taonga are normal, that we carry our whakapapa proudly and naturally.”
These kōrero remind us that our mahi is not just about projects, it’s about relationships, whakapapa, and leaving a legacy.
As Tumu Whakarae Tomairangi Higgins reflects, “This is normal practice for us and that’s our point of difference. We learn through experience and connection. These gems will live on beyond this time together. This wānanga hasn’t been easy, much of it is self-discovery. But we’ve come out with a toolkit of personal and professional practices that help us master our craft.”
Together with Te Ao Hou Trust, we have continued to deepen our understanding of leadership that begins in service, is nourished through relationships, and strengthened by mātauranga Māori. Ngā mihi nunui to our mentor Dr Teah Carlson your aroha, guidance, and expertise have helped shape who we are today.
“I roto i te pōuri, te māramatanga e whiti ana – in the darkness, the light shines.”
