"I believe that most people are like me. They want a good life.
I knew that it wasn’t just about stopping violence or giving up alcohol and drugs, it was about giving people hope and so what we did is we used out Tikanga Māori and the values of that culture to help people identify what they really wanted out of life.
What was important? Was whanau important? Was children important? Did they want a better life?"
- Daryl Gregory (Founder: He Waka Tapu)
Our founder
I was originally working for an organisation called ‘Kia Pakari,’ which was a Māori men's Stopping Violence programme. For various reasons that closed and I was approached by a woman called Philippa Joggings from Corrections. She asked if I’d be willing to take on a contract specifically targeted at working with Māori men and family violence.
After a year, we decided that to do this properly we needed a structure and an organisation. We set up a trust and I thought about the name and philosophy behind that trust. We came up with He Waka Tapu and here we are 20 years later.
It’s come a long way, and that’s down to a lot of good people. I realise that’s what it’s about, you have to have good people. People whose heart believes that people can change and want to change. I think if you do not have that sort of passion or belief then you are probably in the wrong job, because you are working with a very hard clientele. Giving people hope and helping them to plant the right seed so they can see a future for themselves is really what it’s about.
That is what He Waka Tapu is about, the vision that you want to create and sailing towards your destination.
Our whakataukī
The whakataukī is a wero for all kaimahi. Through the provision of evidence-based, mana-enhancing, timely and high quality support we will demonstrate that whānau are leading better lives. We then can know we are providing great services that are impacting positively for whānau.