E Tipu E Rea Whānau Services was established following the successful implementation of the teen parent project at Auckland Women’s Centre. This project highlighted the need for an independent, Auckland-based teen parent service.
We began as Thrive, officially established in 2011 to support, protect, and empower vulnerable teen parents in West and Central Auckland.
The transition to E Tipu E Rea Whānau Services came about because of the belief in our whānau in upholding the mana and hauora of young Māori – and using a kaupapa Māori to support people of all backgrounds.
E Tipu E Rea, meaning “to grow and to thrive” from a kōrero by Ta Apirana Ngata, encompasses our kaupapa on three levels:
- Whānau: as we help our rangatahi gain the tools and skills to fulfil their potential and strengthen as a whānau
- Whakapapa: as our support networks encourage mātua taiohi to reconnect with their hapū, their whenua and their whakapapa, because this has an immeasurable impact on their hauora wairua
- Te Ao: international teen pregnancy rates are most represented by indigenous peoples, and a colonial stigma victimises and sidelines teen mothers as an economic problem. Our kaupapa is to dismantle that stigma by helping mātua taiohi enact their rangatiratanga.
