A lower North Island initiative is providing an eight-day outdoor adventure for wāhine aged 15 to 18.
'Wāhine Mana Mauri' is run by YMCA Kaitoke Outdoor Education Centre and aims to provide opportunities in the outdoors for rangatahi who might not otherwise get these types of experiences.
CEO of Kaitoke Education Centre, Brendan Owens, says the initiative is a development from a programme they have been running in high schools, with the help of additional support from the Tū Manawa fund for active recreation activities like this.
Sport NZ has noticed some changes in behaviours in the past few years, and Covid, unfortunately, has exacerbated these issues, so it is a big thank you to SportNZ and the sports trust for funding these programmes.
The kaupapa is available for wāhine rangatahi only aged 15 to 18, and they are encouraged in the application process to share their story and the desire they have to grow as a person, says Owens.
“It’s a self-referral process, and the reason why it's only for girls is that the research has shown that there is a significant drop off of participation in active recreation from wāhine at that age.”
The kaupapa is set to kick off in early December.