During term one young men had the opportunity to take part in He Kaupapa Tūmanako | Project Hope offered by Massey University. He Kaupapa Tūmanako provides an opportunity for young people to join with more than 100 others from across the globe to explore current issues and the impact that these can have on wellbeing. Tools are then provided to reframe these issues with a focus on hope. Over four weeks the participants met via Zoom for 1 1/2 hours and completed a range of individual and group tasks related to the theme for the week. It was fantastic to have a diverse range of young men across all year levels sign up to be part of He Kaupapa Tūmanako in term one.
Week one of the course focused on Hope as a practice of thought, or 'whakaaro' in te reo Māori. This session was based around the work of Dr. Krushil Watene, who says that "often we think about hope as being about the future, a future that's better than the present and often a future that's better for us in some way or something that we care about. And it's this future focus that makes hoping and being hopeful for something, I think, that makes us vulnerable. It takes courage to be hopeful. Where do we find that courage to be hopeful? Where do we find that
willingness to be vulnerable?"
"Thoughts live; they travel far" - Swami Vivekananda
Week two explored practices of connection or whiti. Dr. April Bennett presented "about hope as a feeling, as something that blooms unexpectedly with
anew, as a result of four things: of having a connection to yourself and to
something greater than you; of doing the work to restore, to protect and to
heal, with the intention of being of service and of bringing about change for
others and the world."
"Waiho i te toipoto, kaua i te toiroa - Let us keep close together, not far apart"
The final week of the programme focused on practices of action or ātetenga. Dr. Elspeth Tilley explored a framework to help the participants find the "small, positive and useful" things in their lives and to create routines so that these positive things become part of their everyday lives.
"Hope doesn't come from words, hope only comes from action" - Greta Thunberg
There is much that any young men could take from this course and we are hopeful that there will be an opportunity for members of our school community to be involved again in the future. A huge thank you to Massey Univeristy, and in particular Dr. Heather Meikle and Nicki Trueman for their support and encouragement of our young men.
