Building belonging

For nearly a decade BGI has been building spaces where young Māori in Wellington can explore who they are. A grant from HealthCarePlus is helping them do it at a greater scale than ever before.

BGI delivers three wānanga (seminars) each year for Year 12 and 13 Māori students from Wellington High School and Onslow College. The program is built around three guiding pātai (questions): Nō hea koe? (Where are you from?), Ko wai koe? (Who are you?) and E haere ana koe ki hea? (Where are you heading?). Through marae-based experiences, whakawhanaungatanga and leadership development, rangatahi strengthen their connection to whakapapa, identity and community,

This kaupapa was founded by Kahukura Ritchie, and was shaped by his own experience in programs such as Tuia and Matariki, which aim to develop the ways rangatahi Māori contribute to communities throughout New Zealand. 

Kuīni Blade, BGI’s Co-ordinator of the Whai Kura Wānanga and Tuakana Wānanaga, says, “Kahu wanted younger Māori to have access to kaupapa like these earlier in life. A lot of urban Māori in Wellington feel disconnected from their roots and their whakapapa, and he wanted to help create spaces where they could connect and find belonging.”

For Kuīni, the work is also personal.

“I came through Kura Wānanga myself as a young person, from the ages of 15-17,” she says. “It completely changed my trajectory, and I owe a lot of the best parts of my life now to the impact it had on me.”

She’s now one of several former teina who’ve returned as tuakana (mentors). This is a structure BGI has deliberately built so the program’s impact keeps moving forwards.

The HealthCarePlus grant has let BGI focus on delivery rather than logistics.

“It covers the actual costs of doing something like this: wānanga delivery, resources, travel, mentoring and support for our teina and tuakana,” Kuīni says.

It’s also opened up employment and leadership pathways for young Māori who’ve come through the programme themselves.

Two of the three 2026 wānanga are complete: the first at Kāpiti Marae, exploring Nō hea koe?, the second at Kohunui Marae, exploring Ko wai koe? The final wānanga runs at Te Rau Karamu Marae from 13-15 August 2026.

One rangatahi reflected at the second wānanga, “Before I came to these Kura Wānanga, I didn’t feel proud to be Māori, and now I feel like it’s one of the most important parts of who I am.” Another, a former teina now working as tuakana, says, “These wānanga are not just life-changing, but life-saving.”

For BGI, that’s the whole point of their work. “More rangatahi get to take part regardless of their circumstances,” Kuīni says. “We get to focus on what matters, which is creating these experiences for young Māori and helping them step into themselves.”

BGI’s long-term vision is to enable every rangatahi Māori in Wellington who wants access to this kind of kaupapa to have it, sustained, always, by rangatahi themselves.

Feedback from our Grant Committee members

If you are interested and want to know more this year's Grants for Good and how to apply for one, then click below to find out more.

Apply for

Grants for Good