Ikura|Manaakitia te whare tangata, the Period products in schools initiative, provides access to free period products to young people at MGC and in schools throughout New Zealand.

The Period products in Schools initiative is celebrating the launch of a new ingoa (name): Ikura | Manaakitia te whare tangata. Ikura links back to the ancient Māori name for menstruation which connects traditional beliefs about the mana and tapu (sacredness) of women and menstrual blood. As part of this new phase the focus moves to destigmatising periods for ākonga.

Ākonga from Fairfield College summed it up nicely: “We’re not getting a Māori name because we want to target Māori students ... but because we want to get rid of the stigma around periods and restore the mana and the traditional idea that having your period should be a celebration.”

The Ministry of Education have also developed a partnership with Essity who manufacture Libra period products and Tork bathroom supplies. In addition to this, MGC will also be receiving dispenser units. This will support our ākonga to discretely access product and have product available for collection from central points around our school. This means ākonga will have enough product to take home to manage their full cycle, and product to access in situations where they are caught out.

More information on the te reo māori ingoa is available on the MoE website here.