Pūruatia Trust

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Pūruatia Trust

Based in Te Waipounamu, Pūruatia Trust aims to provide and encourage equitable te reo and te ao Māori akoranga and kaupapa for whānau Māori and their allies.

11/09/2026

Here’s an inside look at our next kaupapa matua/overarching theme for GUYK.

We were privileged to have Alex join us at training as kaitautoko for mau rākau. Alex will be at hōtaka teaching tamariki about the history of mau rākau, tikanga, and guiding them through drills.

He mihi nui tēnei ki a Alex. I whakapau kaha ia ki te kawe mai i ana mātauranga me ana pūkenga hoki e pā ana ki te kaupapa “Māori Weaponry” i tērā mutunga wiki.

A big shout out to Alex for going above and beyond to share his knowledge and skills with us about Māori weaponry last weekend.

Our crew are excited, and we are ready to share this cool kaupapa with all the tamariki joining us.

Registrations for our upcoming hōtaka are now closed. If you have missed out this time, make sure to sign up to the mailing list on our website to receive the pānui for our December hōtaka.

Hei ngā hararei koutou!

Mailing List: https://puruatiatrust.co.nz/

02/09/2026

Nau mai, rēhita mai!

Our kaupapa Māori holiday programme Give Us Your Kids is back again for the Sept/Oct school holidays. Whānau with tamariki aged 5-13 years are invited to register for Hōtaka Whā.

The kaupapa matua for this hōtaka is Ngā Mānuka Māori - Māori weaponry! We have some awesome kaitautoko for this, watch this space for upcoming info.

Spaces are limited so if your tamaiti/tamariki are keen to join us, rēhita mai - make sure you register! Registrations close 7 Sep 2026.

Anei te hononga: https://forms.gle/cj6KtcYP5HCrk5cT9

27/08/2026

Kia ora tātou!

We’re looking for great humans who have hononga with te ao Māori and enjoy working with tamariki to join our Give Us Your Kids Crew. We would love to hear from rangatahi who are looking for (paid) work experience, and from rangatahi-at-heart who have passion and energy to share.

If you are fun, reliable, creative and keen to be a part of a kaupapa that celebrates tamariki to authentically be themselves - tono mai! Fill in the EOI form, and Erin will get in touch with you.

Please share this pānui with humans in your life who might also be keen :)
EOI form: https://forms.gle/EM6LBr9mkGnG3ado6

19/08/2026

Nei te reo matakuikui e rere atu nei ki a Jordan Heath! E hoa mā, Jordan (Ngāi Tahu, Waihao) has joined Pūruatia Trust in the newly established Manager role. Woohoo!!! Jordan has spent the last few years in Naarm on Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung country, and his recent return to Te Waipounamu coincided beautifully with our search for an awesome human to help us grow and strengthen our kaupapa.

Jordan has a diverse background in production, dispute resolution, marketing, case management, and photography/design. He has also worked with tamariki in holiday programmes and Camp America. His most recent roles included mahi in production on the TV series ‘Neighbours’, and ‘Imposter’, as well as wholesale flowers and plants. Jordan values connecting with others, bringing projects to life, and te taiao.

“What a privilege to join Pūruatia Trust and work within kaupapa Māori spaces. I felt wairua stirring in me during my time in Melbourne, and coming home has felt so right for me. I’m excited for my future, to learn more te reo and connect with te ao Māori. Kia ora!”

13/08/2026

Kia ora, e te whānau.

Nau mai, rēhita mai - registrations are open for our next hōtaka. During the Sept/Oct holidays, we'll be focusing on Ngā Mānuka Māori | Māori weaponry. We've got some awesome humans coming to tautoko our hōtaka, and we're working on designing a haerenga too.

Spaces are limited so if your tamaiti/tamariki are keen to join us, rēhita mai - make sure you register!

Anei te hononga: https://forms.gle/cj6KtcYP5HCrk5cT9

03/08/2026

We are stoked to welcome Nic Low to the team at Pūruatia Trust. Nic joins us as Kaiwhakahaere | Organiser for Aoraki Bound. He will be leading the mahi ahead to connect with whānau, hapū, marae, Rūnanga, iwi, and hapori - as we explore what Aoraki Bound could look like going forward.

Nic Low (Ngāi Tahu; Ōraka-Aparima, Awarua, Kāti Huirapa ki Puketeraki) is an author, arts leader, te reo student and dad with a strong focus on Ngāi Tahu history and connection to place. After living between Melbourne and Christchurch for nearly 20 years he returned home in 2021 to work in kaupapa Māori spaces. Recent roles include guiding Canterbury Museum to create exhibitions through engagement with Papatipu Rūnanga, work as a commissioning editor at New Zealand Geographic to improve coverage of te ao Māori, and leading the WORD Christchurch Festival of Books, Writing and Ideas. He is the author of three acclaimed books, including the best-selling Uprising, which explores Ngāi Tahu’s history in the Southern Alps through walking journeys. His latest, Little Doomsdays, with Phil Dadson, looks at how past civilisations preserved what they love in the face of existential threat. When not at a desk you’ll find him and his whānau tramping, biking or climbing in the hills.

"Doing Aoraki Bound, I really benefited from the decades of mahi that came before -- so it's super exciting to be invited to help shape the next chapter. For me the question is: when my son and all his cousins do Aoraki Bound, what sort of experience do we want them to have?"

31/05/2026

“Grateful for the encouraging manner of all kaiako and kaiāwhina, we have a bilingual whare so any environment outside of our whare helps my tamaiti more in this space.” 💛

“Kōrero Māori consistently all the time, more activities te ao Māori.”

Feedback like this from whānau continues to shape and strengthen our kaupapa at Give Us Your Kids. We know how important it is to create spaces where tamariki feel encouraged and supported in their reo journey.

This hōtaka we’ll be introducing rumaki (immersion) for wā kai, encouraging tamariki to use only te reo Māori during kai time together. We’ll begin with just 5 minutes and slowly build toward a fully immersed wā kai ✨

22/05/2026

A huge part of Give Us Your Kids is creating opportunities for rangatahi to grow through meaningful mahi, training, and real-world experience.

Alongside supporting our tamariki, our rangatahi are building leadership, communication, teamwork, and life skills that will carry far beyond hōtaka.

We know that by investing in those guiding our tamariki, we help strengthen our whole community.

06/05/2026

Our April hōtaka focused on mahi toi, creative expression. We were grateful to be hosted by Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Whānau Tahi, our tamariki and crew had an awesome time.

Some of the feedback we’ve received from whānau has been a great way to celebrate some of the things we love about Give Us Your Kids:

“I liked the lack of devices. I turned up early for pick up one day, and I loved seeing the tamariki playing touch, running around and just being tamariki.”

“I liked that it was at a kura kaupapa. It helped my tamariki feel more comfortable in a new space.”

“He aroha nō mātou i tō koutou tautoko i ā mātou tamariki, tēnā koutou katoa.”

Registrations for our July hōtaka will open soon - follow our socials and sign up for the newsletter on our website to make sure you can Give Us Your Kids in the next school holidays.

19/03/2026

We are honoured to be managing the operations of Aoraki Bound for three years, with the tautoko of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu and Craig Pauling. Aoraki Bound has a powerful legacy of connecting Ngāi Tahu whānui and our wider community to our whenua, our pūrākau, and our shared future. The last hīkoi was in February 2020, and Aoraki Bound has been in hibernation ever since.

Pūruatia Trust will be exploring what Aoraki Bound could look like going forward, and we want to hear from Rūnanga, hapū, marae, whānau, and hapori. To be part of the process and share your whakaaro, or to hear about future hīkoi, please head to our website and fill in the short form that is linked there.

We are also looking for an awesome human to join us in the role of Kaiwhakahaere/Organiser for Aoraki Bound. Information about the role and application process can also be found on our website.

https://puruatiatrust.co.nz/pages/aoraki-bound

Address

Christchurch

Telephone

+6421844642

Website

https://puruatiatrust.co.nz/, https://linktr.ee/puruatiatrust

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