In E Tū Whānau, we have our own influencers who inspire change in whānau and communities. We call them kahukura.
Two E Tū Whānau kahukura were recently named in the 2024 Kings Birthday Honours List.
Les Hokianga was honoured with the Kings Service Medal for services to physical fitness and mental health.
Aliya Danzeisen is an honorary member of the NZ Order of Merit for services to the Muslim community and women.
E Tū Whānau kahukura are grassroots leaders within the whanau, hapū or communities that they come from. They give back and are continuously nourished by their rōpu in return, actively working to create environments in which whānau are safe, strong, and able to thrive.
Savanna Martin-Koteka is one of these inspirational E Tū Whānau kahukura.
Savanna Martin-Koteka
Savanna has a wry, understated tone to her voice when she describes her upbringing as “colourful”.
She was seventeen when she made the pivotal decision to stay in Taupō and build a healthy, safe, and fulfilling life of her own rather than follow her mother and two young sisters to Auckland.
Sixteen years later, she’s a multi-skilled indigenous practitioner, educator, social development kaimahi, Whānau Ora navigator, and personal trainer. She’s māmā to seven tamariki, four that she gave birth to and three rangatahi that she shares with her partner, Manaia Cuthbert.
They, like Williams Olds, are part of Te Hapori Ora whānau / The Village of Wellbeing, a wānanga-centred community development kaupapa that champions safe spaces free of inter-generational violations.
Supporting rich, violence-free lives for whānau
Savanna’s first steps toward creating the rich, violence-free life she envisioned for herself started with a hospo job straight out of school.
By age 23, she had two tamariki and was well into five years of on-the-job training to become a qualified kohanga reo kaiako. Building on her talent for teaching and an interest she’d always had in physical health, she studied to become a personal trainer. She currently runs weekly classes at the POD on Spa Road in Taupō.
She met Manaia and they had two pēpē. Through Manaia, she was introduced to the ‘Te Hapori Ora/ Village of Wellbeing’ whānau and her tuakana, or mentors, Hakuwai and Kimi Eriksen-Downs.
“The Te Hapori Ora kaupapa resonated with me immediately. I felt safe. I felt heard,” says Savanna.
Kimi supported her into an emergency housing and community development role with Tūwharetoa Ora. Savanna continued to sharpen her facilitation and wananga skills before taking her next big step which was to study with the indigenous practitioner training institute, Te Korowai Aroha o Aotearoa. She continued to study. She recently gained a diploma in Whānau Ora through Wai Tech and has secured a contract as a Whānau Ora navigator.
Her main mahi is, however, with Te Hapori Ora supporting whānau to identify what they want in their lives and working out how they’re going to achieve it.
“It’s flexible, multi-dimensional mahi. My job is to make sure they have everything they need to achieve their aspirations and because we’re indigenous practitioners we have the flexibility to connect with whānau in the way they want to connect with us,” says Savanna.
Kahukura – the living embodiment of positive change
Like Manaia, William, and countless other whānau, hapū, and community stalwarts, Savanna is a kahukura, the living embodiment of positive change. She gives back and is continuously nourished by her rōpū in return.
She’s an inspiration to her sisters as well, and an encouragement to her mother who has begun a healing journey of her own.
“I’m so proud of them all. My sisters are working fulltime and training for future careers in travel and tourism. They were influenced by the choices I made in my life and are both in stable, healthy relationships. That’s not what we grew up with, but it is how we live now.”
Savanna Martin-Koteka
About Te Hapori Ora
Te Hapori Ora are part of the Te Whariki Aroha Collective and share premises in central Taupō with the other members, Tuwharetoa Health, Te Whare Oranga Wairua/ Māori Women’s Refuge, and Te Korowai Roopu Tautoko Trust. All have the common goals of uplifting whānau, developing close relationships of reciprocal awhi, and sharing of skills.
More about E Tū Whānau kahukura
Watch this short animation about how kahukura create environments in which whānau are safe, strong, and able to thrive.
Watch highlights from the E Tū Whānau Ann Dysart Kahukura Award 2022.
Read how the E Tū Whānau Kahukura Workshop 2023 empowered and connected community leaders.
