What We do

The Aotearoa Heart Project is an intensive full term experience based learning program. Our sessions have been carefully designed to provide support structure for children aged 10 years and upward to explore and expand upon their sense of self and potential. We aim to provide alternative support to students, schools, teachers and communities by providing unique lifelong learning opportunities.

Objectives

To develop and strengthen children’s own innate abilities to create well-being and positive change within their lives and within the world. We concentrate on the following five main aspects of development.

1. Individual (foundational aspect)

2. Close relationships and team work

3. Environment

4. Local community

5. Global community

Each aspect is designed to work as a way to expand and strengthen the individual which is the fundamental foundation of this course. The fortunate by-product of the children’s individual work and attainment is that their peers, environment, local and global communities will also benefit creating a win: win scenario. We believe to create long term sustainable change, it needs to begin with the individual first and foremost.

Our Methods

The Inside out - supporting the children/tamariki to learn how to turn inward and take care of their internal experience. We teach practical tools of how to increase self-awareness and self-support, plus encouraging greater self-responsibility and conscious choice. Our main objective is for our participants to develop a stable internal foundation to live their life from.

The outside in - we provide opportunities for our akonga/students to participate in unique impactful life experiences. The experiences are also designed to provide practical solutions to tangible needs. The objective is to provide experiences that act as encouragement for the children to continue supporting themselves and create positive changes.

An Increasing need

Aotearoa Heart Founder, ex-All Black, Crusader and Maori All Black Norm Maxwell believes children of today face very different challenges than ever before. The New Zealand Ministry of health figures have clearly shown that NZ teenagers that struggle with mental health issues is growing steadily year after year. With the most alarming statistic being New Zealand has the highest suicide rate for teenagers (15 to 19 year olds) in the OECD (The Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development, including 36 major countries) which is a fundamental reason the Aotearoa Heart Project is aimed at working with preteens. The project’s aim is to establish early important self-care skills and life-affirming experiences amongst their participants. Plus provide positive role models and mentoring relationships to offer continued support for them in the future.

Aotearoa Heart would like to start our project journey in Christchurch, to work firsthand with the children who have been traumatized by the devastating earthquakes, Cashmere hill fires and now the recent horrific Mosque terror attacks. This is also an opportunity for Norm to give back to the city that he called home for many years.

It is clear that it is time, for us all to come together, to address this urgent issue with our most important resource and taonga our children/tamariki. To find creative, authentic and effective ways to provide them with the support they most desperately need and deserve. We hope our unique program will not only be beneficial for our tamariki, but for our nga Kaiako/teachers as well. We sincerely believe the education of our young people is a whole community responsibility and teachers should not have to do this in isolation.

The Aotearoa Heart program is designed to be as inclusive as possible, and the upmost respect will be given for all individuals’ beliefs, cultures and ethnicities.