Earlier this month, Toi Tangata kaimahi joined whānau and the wider hapori for the Tāmaki legs of Move the Motu- a kaupapa-driven run club tour making its way through communities across Aotearoa throughout September.

The initiative is all about promoting movement, connection, hauora, and enrolling to vote while participating in a 5km run. It was a great opportunity to come together, get moving and support a kaupapa that is encouraging whānau to prioritise their hauora while also making their voices heard.

For Toi Tangata it was a natural connection. Kori, connection and hauora are all part of creating thriving whānau and communities.

Move the Motu provided a space to bring these ideas together:

• Movement and hauora: encouraging whānau to move in ways that bring joy, connection and wellbeing.
• Whakawhanaungatanga: creating opportunities for people to come together, support one another and strengthen community connection.
• Participation: supporting  whānau to enrol and have a say in the decisions that shape our communities and future. 

The kaupapa was a timely reminder that hauora is not something we experience in isolation, but is shaped through our relationships, our communities and the opportunities we have to participate.

Participation can take many forms. We move, we play, we connect, we contribute and we use our voices. Each of these can be part of building mana motuhake and supporting the hauora of whānau and hapori.

A big mihi to everyone involved in making Move the Motu happen and to all the whānau who turned up, got moving and supported the kaupapa.