We did it together! Thanks for the love (and the $)!!
Published on October 4, 2023 by Faumuina Tafunai
I have posted some of the outcomes for Wayfinding for Life below, and WERO is currently still running.
We have have extra good news for Wayfinding for Life in that we have secured more funding from Ministry of Ed for next year. That funding is still tagged for Pasifika. However, I have now finished setting up Flying Geese Trust we aim to partner with funding partners to offer Maori spaces in that programme. As for WERO, we also are pursuing ongoing funding - a bit more optimistically at the moment - for Term 4, we secured funding for delivery and $3k of seed funding for each rangatahi team to create prototypes of their product/service idea. For an entertaining look at WERO - go here.
So I just want to thank you all so so much, for believing, for offering, for heeding the call. Fa’afetai lava - Faumuina
Wayfinding for Life results:
- * Students support each other and grow in confidence.
- * Students expand their friendship groups and learn from their peers in an environment that encourages empathy.
- * Students understand some of the negative behaviours that are holding them back.
- * Teachers observe students who are usually withdrawn start to participate and take leadership roles in the workshops.
- * Schools guided on possible activities that will better support their Pasifika students.
- * Schools are asking for more workshops and follow-up activities.
Here’s a deeper dive:
Agency: We ask the students what they want out of the day. The four most common responses are fun, food, friends and learning.
Agency: We ask the students what they want out of the day. The four most common responses are fun, food, friends and learning.
- Connection and Empathy: Each student creates a Mihi Map that tells the story of how they made their journey to where they are now. The stories include their family story, their interests and what schools they've attended. Students begin to learn and understand more about each other. They are given a pepeha guide so they can share their pepeha with the class. It is explained how this activity seeks to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi and acknowledge the mana whenua for their manaakitanga of Pacific peoples in Aotearoa.
- Understanding they are not alone: Students draw waka populated with their family, friends, coaches, favourite teachers, as well as those who have passed on but remain important to them. They identify why these people are on their waka and the value they bring to their lives.
- Reaching in: Good Times Compasses are drawn by every student. They choose four positive activities that help lift their moods. The compasses reinforce the Wayfinding for Life ethos that it's important that young people know they can reach in to find ways to restore and rebalance themselves.
- Mindfulness: Te Moana is an element where students participate in a guided meditation. They become more attuned to their bodies and experience both discipline and freedom as they listen to and control their bodies.
- Vulnerability: Through fun relays that include music, siva and even animal impressions, students share their fears and worst-case scenarios. We call this the Island of Doom. This island is populated by everything that could go wrong in the student's lives. This Island also gives us the chance to talk about “banter” and “smack talk” between friends and how they can inadvertently hurt the feelings of our friends.
- Strategic thinking: Students choose ideas from the Island of Doom and write 5-step Prevention Plans. They are encouraged to look to their “waka” and “compass” for some of their solutions. To further enhance the learning, students create businesses where their solutions are marketed and they create TV advertisements. A total of 84 prevention plans were created.
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