First group of young Maori receive Te Rangihouhiri Marae Elite Taiohi Awards

Twenty-year-old Kiwi-Bianca McLeod-Ohia is one of the first group of four Tauranga Maori youth making waves in international sport and education to receive the Te Rangihouhiri Marae Elite Taiohi Award as part of a long term leadership strategy.

Eleven youth aged between 14 and 24 representing Tauranga Moana’s 11 marae will be awarded the Taiohi Award and $500 in recognition of their successes, their role in their marae and the community – four awards each month for three months.

Kiwi-Bianca, representing Tamapahore Marae, is a student working toward a degree in Sports and Fitness with the aim of becoming a Physical Education teacher by 2013. She is a representative netball player and coaches netball teams at Arataki Primary School, Mount Maunganui Intermediate and Mount Maunganui College.

“I’m lucky to have a supportive whanau who watch all my games and attend my training sessions. And I love to watch other young players, so when I’m not playing myself I’m running from court to court watching others.”

She says having a tutor who pushes her to work harder and push herself further and further is important.

“I’ve learned that it’s all in the top four inches. You may think it hurts and you can’t go any further but you can. It’s all in your mind.”

Kiwi-Bianca says playing sport makes life easier because people recognise you and respect your effort.

“It’s also taught me not to give up and to turn any negatives that come up into positives. Never believe people if they tell you are too young or something is impossible. Just get out there and do it for yourself.”

Kiwi-Bianca has an Open Water Dive Certificate and her own SCUBA gear so she can gather kaimoana for her marae. She’s also a keen cook and babysitter and is learning some waiata.

“I don’t like standing in front of people singing, though. I’ll leave that to the real stars.”

Ngai Te Rangi Iwi spokesperson Paora Stanley says the awards were designed to identify, celebrate, and invest in the success of whanau of Ngaiterangi iwi descent. He says this is one way local marae can start planning for and developing their future leaders with the support of their Iwi.

“We have a great deal to be proud of. Many of our whanau are doing extremely well in education, arts, politics, and sports throughout the world – at colleges, wananga and universities. These awards are an opportunity to pay homage to our Taiohi and celebrate their achievements.”

He says the award enables the Iwi to put up and coming elite young people on the radar and to focus its resources to support them.

“We need to be thinking about what our maraes will look like in twenty years and who will be leading them. These smart young people have been identified by their marae as the type of people to embrace as our future leaders.

“They are all talented; their whanau has recognised that and now it is up to them how they advance in the world.”

Stanley says the Taiohi Awards project focuses on a group often overlooked.

“We spend a lot of time and energy helping youth who are experiencing difficult times. This is not to undervalue those efforts but it means our resources are tied up in social service activities. This elite group of young people have something to offer our Iwi and our country which we also need to encourage.”

The four announced this month are:

• Lindsay Williams aged 16, Year 11 student at Tauranga Boys College, representing Opureora Marae;
• Marrise Dickson aged 18 representing Hungahungatoroa Marae;
• Baye Jacob aged 17, representing Waikari Marae;
• and Kiwi-Bianca McLeod-Ohia.

Stanley says the first-time awards are the beginning of a 20-year investment in people who have the ability to serve their community and their country.

“In 20 years time we will have 220 young leaders on our radar. Kiwi-Bianca will be 40 years old, Lindsay Williams will be 36 years old, Marrise will be 38 years old and Baye 37 years old. We expect they’ll all be leading from the front.”

Four more recipients will be announced in October, with the final four for 2009 being announced in November.