Since 1998, Brainwave Trust Aotearoa has been delivering educational programmes to thousands of parents, grandparents, teachers, professionals working with whānau and tamariki, and wider communities about how early experiences influence a child’s brain development.
After being approached by a number of organisations to present from a Māori perspective, as well as requests to create new collaborative initiatives with iwi in the Auckland region, Brainwave Trust successfully gained funding and support to develop a strengths-based programme specifically for Māori audiences.
Following a pilot programme, Brainwave is now rolling out the Tiakina te tamaiti programme. Kaitiaki of the programme and Brainwave Trust kaiako, André Ngāpō, says "Brainwave’s vision is that all tamariki in Aotearoa New Zealand are valued and nurtured so they can reach their full potential. We speak up for children by sharing the evidence that shows the impact everyone has on the life of a tamaiti."