WHO WE ARE
WHAT WE DO
Te Ora Hou Aotearoa provides a range of services to support the development of young people. Our services include mentoring, coaching, counseling, and educational programs. We work with young people from all backgrounds and provide tailored support to meet their specific needs. We also work closely with families, schools, and communities to create a supportive environment for young people to thrive in. Our ultimate goal is to help young people build their confidence, resilience, and life skills so that they can succeed in education, employment, and life.
About Us
Te Ora Hou Ōtautahi is a group of people, mostly Māori, committed to the holistic development of young people, their whānau and communities. We are involved in a wide variety of youth and community development initiatives at a local, regional, and national level. Te Ora Hou Ōtautahi is affiliated to Te Ora Hou Aotearoa – a national network of organisations with a similar kaupapa.
Te Ora Hou began in early 1970’s as part of YFC international’s ‘Youth Guidance’ concept aimed at countering the drift of urban and rural Māori and Polynesian young people into gangs, homelessness, drug and alcohol addiction and violence that was becoming prevalent as a result of the social upheaval of the 1970’s and 1980’s. It was initially a simple gospel response to the key issues of the times.
Te Ora Hou Ōtautahi started in Christchurch in 1983 in Papanui as part of YFC running simple activity based mentoring programmes. It quickly grew to include Boys and Girls clubs in Shirley, Aranui, Hillmorton and Hornby. In 1995, Te Ora Hou Aotearoa became an autonomous national Māori organisation and in 1997, Te Ora Hou Ōtautahi became an Incorporated Society. This was in response to the need for Māori leadership and culturally appropriate practice. Today, Te Ora Hou Ōtautahi continues strong links with local whānau, community and church groups, as well as forming new relationships and contracts with local government, Iwi providers, Pacific Island groups and central government.
Te Ora Hou employs a strengths-based approach. This means we prefer to focus on developing and encouraging the inherent strengths in the young person as opposed to focusing solely on “what’s going wrong”. We support best practice including adhering to the YDSA and Positive Youth Development.
For more on our history, click here.
To read our vision, mission statement and values, click here.
To read more on how we do what we do, check out our Model of Practice (TOHATOHA) here.
Education
2015-2017
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2011-2014
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2007-2010
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Te Mauri
Our organisational value are at the heart of absolutely everything we do.
TANGATA WHENUA Indigenous Peoples Te Ora Hou is an indigenous movement it is primarily led by and for indigenous peoples. In Aotearoa this means Māori lead the organisation and are the priority group to be considered in all activities of Te Ora Hou.
MAHI TIKA Social Justice We are committed to doing what is just. We let the other aspects of our Mauri influence the things that we take action on. We work hard to promote non-violence and justice within all areas of our lives, and communities.
ĀKONGA Learning Te Ora Hou values learning opportunities both structured and unplanned. We value learning for its contribution to the holistic development of self, whanau and community. We recognise that challenge is where growth comes from – and we invite others to constructively and honestly critique what we do. We want to learn from the experiences we share and make the learning available to others to learn from as well.
KARAITI Jesus Centered We look at the way Jesus lived and how he related to those around him as the example of true humanity. We find healing, truth and commonsense in the ways of Jesus and our relationship to Him – a relationship we are open to sharing with others. We recognise that every person is created in the image of God and that the Spirit is at work in our lives, whanau and communities. We journey with others to realise both our individual and collective God-given potential.
WHĀNAUNGATANGA Sustained Quality Relationships Good quality relationships provide safety, belonging and a sense of being valued and appreciated. Te Ora Hou aims to strengthen positive connections between rangatahi and their whanau, peers, school and/or work, and cultural and geographic communities. We encourage Te Ora Hou workers and rangatahi to be positively involved in each other’s lives outside of structured Te Ora Hou services and programmes. We encourage one another to live a consistent life by maintaining healthy relationships within our own whānau, neighborhoods and work.
OHAOHA Generosity & Volunteerism Being generous with our time, open to interruption and inconvenience – Te Ora Hou supports people who volunteer their time and energy in the service of others without expectation of personal gain. We encourage the rangatahi we work with to develop similar values of giving and generosity with their time, talents and resources.
RANGATAHI, WHĀNAU & HAPU Young People, Families & Communities Young people are where our expertise is – the group we engage with most are rangatahi aged 10-18 years. We recognise that every rangatahi should be part of a whānau that cares about what happens to them – and we acknowledge the importance of strengthening healthy connections between rangatahi and their whānau, marae, hapu, iwi and communities. Rangatahi usually reflect the priorities and values of the communities in which they develop – We recognise that each rangatahi and the communities they are part of have unique strengths and needs. Clarifying the roles and responsibilities of rangatahi and the other significant people in their lives is an important process that we continue to support.
