Education – Literacy Takes Centre Stage with Tukuoha Funds

Literacy emerged as a key theme in Tapuwae Roa’s latest Tukuoha funding round, with $60,000 awarded to nine kaupapa Māori aimed at strengthening whānau through financial, health, cultural, and environmental knowledge.

Now in its fourth year, distributed funds included the return of the Pou Herenga Tangata Award, supporting rangatahi-led initiatives in the community, and the Tonganui Scholarship, advancing tikanga and mātauranga in the oceans space. This year also saw the inclusion of Te Ngake o Te Kūpenga, a discretionary fund designed to encourage Māori into ocean-based careers by strengthening connections to Tangaroa.

Several recipients in this year’s cohort are directing their funding toward advancing literacy in applied, community-based contexts. Among them are Pou Herenga Tangata Awardees Maioha Haimona-Ngawharau (Ngāti Ranginui) and Māia Lockyer (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Heretaunga, Ngāti Porou, Rongomaiwahine) who intend to develop a series of free health literacy resources designed to bridge the gap between clinical knowledge and patient understanding.

“As fourth-year Māori medical students, we recognised that many patients leave clinical encounters feeling confused or overwhelmed by complex medical terminology,” says Haimona-Ngawharau.

“By producing and releasing free health literacy resources, we aim to break down the physiology and pathology of common conditions, demystify clinical language, and provide practical tools for navigating the healthcare system.”

Another project advancing literacy through storytelling is led by Te Ngake o Te Kūpenga recipient Kelly Klink (Ngāti Wai), who plans to publish a series of bilingual children’s books that impart stories about the moana and connections to whakapapa.

“I’m currently writing children’s books giving tamariki stories that remind them: the ocean is not just water. It’s whakapapa. Our ancestor. Our teacher,” says Klink.

“By publishing these pūrākau, we give tamariki stories that anchor them to the moana, to their whakapapa, and to the responsibilities of kaitiakitanga. These are the kinds of lessons I want our tamariki to inherit.”

Also focused on improving financial literacy is Pou Herenga Tangata Awardee and bestselling author of Māori Millionaire, Te Kahukura Boynton (Tūhoe, Whakatōhea), who aims to educate rangatahi on building better money habits through a series of wānanga as part of the Māori Millionaire book tour.

“My moemoeā is to host a rangatahi specific kaupapa to inspire and impact our rangatahi to dream big, take radical action, and connect with like-minded Māori,” says Boynton.

“Without funding like this, these events are unsustainable.”

All successful recipients of Tapuwae Roa funding join Ngā Auahitūroa; an alumni network of over 300 diverse Māori change-makers, including academic scholars, community leaders, creatives, and researchers.

Te Rangimarie Ririnui

Delivering through the freediving programme Waitā, Te Rangimarie will support six aspiring kairuku to complete training and lead the next wave of safe, sustainable diving practices.

Te Taiawatea Moko-Painting

Exploring the impact of land-based impacts on the health of pāua (Haliotis iris) in Aotearoa and pā’ua (Tridacna maxima) in Rarotonga, Te Taiawatea’s PhD will also examine the shared whakapapa and reo between both nations to inform climate-resilient futures.

Haimona Brown

Through Ngā Niao o te Kaituna, Haimona will restore a 16-person waka tētē as a living vessel for rangatahi to learn traditional navigation, reconnect with moana, and deepen their understanding of kaitiakitanga.

Youth Cultural Development

Through their kaupapa Māori Taiohi Leadership Programme, Youth Cultural Development hope to nurture confident, culturally grounded, and compassionate young leaders in low decile kura across Ōtautahi to strengthen their cultural identity and positively contribute to their kura and communities.

Emerging theatre practitioner Huia Max is utilising funding to produce a devised theatre show, TUAKIRITEA, centring honest and courageous kōrero around what it means to be Māori in modern-day Aotearoa. The production weaves personal and fictional elements to explore and deconstruct the often complicated and challenging experiences that shape contemporary Māori identity.

Te Kahukura Boynton

Published author and founder of Māori Millionaire, Te Kahukura Boynton, plans to utilise her funding to deliver a rangatahi-focussed book tour to help whānau build better money habits and intergenerational wealth.

Maioha Haimona-Ngawharau and Māia Lockyer

Through their collective kaupapa, Haumanu Hauora, Maioha and Māia hope to utilise their funding to bridge the gap between medical knowledge and patient understanding through a series of health literacy resources to improve adherence to treatment and empower whānau to take charge of their health.

Tanenuiarangi Larkins-Tareha

Delivered through kaupapa-Māori Muay Thai programme, Te Tapa Toa, Tanenuiarangi plans to support rangatahi Māori to strengthen their tinana, hinengaro, wairua, and whānau – while reconnecting with identity, whakapapa, and their potential as future leaders.

Te Ngake o Te Kupenga is a discretionary fund that aims to encourage Māori towards oceans-based careers by strengthening their connections to Tangaroa.

Kelly Klink

Kelly will publish a series of bilingual children’s books that centre pūrākau of the moana, anchoring tamariki in whakapapa, kaitiakitanga, and the knowledge that the ocean is not just water – it’s our ancestor and our teacher. 

Tapuwae Roa (formally, Te Pūtea Whakatupu Trust) was established under the Māori Fisheries Act 2004 as part of the settlement of Māori fishing rights claims. As an independent charitable trust, its role is to provide strategic leadership in education, training, and workforce development for Māori, and to manage the Trust’s fund made available for these purposes. Tapuwae Roa has a particular obligation to ensure benefits are made available to all Māori and give regard to Māori who do not associate with their iwi and/or do not receive benefits from a Mandated Iwi Organisation.