Often the big ideas are actually pretty simple.
You Have Value.
We Succeed Together.
Others Matter.
These are the three messages at the heart of E Tū Tāngata — and they’re pretty powerful ones.
The organisation was founded by Jay and Nicky Geldard after years spent working alongside young people and asking some pretty tough questions about why so many were struggling.
For us here in Kawerau, that hits close to home. In 2010 and 2011, our community went through an incredibly difficult period, with a number of suspected suicides reported locally, many involving young people. For a small community, the impact was huge. Behind every number was a young person, a whānau, friends and a wider community carrying that loss.
One of the things E Tū Tāngata challenges is something most Kiwis will know pretty well — Tall Poppy Syndrome.
Giving someone a hard time for doing well. Cutting them down for standing out. Or even playing down our own achievements because we don’t want to look too proud of ourselves.
But E Tū Tāngata asks a simple question: what if we built each other up instead?
It’s a pretty simple idea, and one we really believe in too — back people, celebrate their wins and help each other grow.
More recently, E Tū Tāngata has taken those same ideas and turned them into a collection of children’s books, helping introduce messages around confidence, belonging, self-worth and looking out for others from an early age. And we think that’s something worth celebrating.
Because the stories kids hear matter. The way we speak to them matters. And the way they see us treating each other matters too.
E Tū Tāngata is tackling some pretty big stuff, but the message at the centre of it couldn’t be much simpler:
Know your value. Back each other. Look out for others.
Simple ideas.
Big impact.
Check out some of the other work they’re doing here.