Te Aratu Trust

09/06/2026

Flexibility is an important part of our kaupapa.

While we couldn't use the Sportsdrome courts today, our core purpose of learning, engagement, and enjoying the double session (the kaupapa) was still completely achieved.

Shifting from physical recreation to community connection and social engagement, and some friendly competitiveness with members of Club 45

At Te Aratu Trust, we prioritize people over plans, and had an absolutely lovely morning with Club 45 members.

They were the hostesses with the mostesses.

Thank you to Madison for organizing the activities to choose from and the contribution and help from members and volunteers.

We shall organize more visits!

08/06/2026

Crafts class e tēnei ra.

Sprucing up our garden with some colorful pots painted by some of our creative Ākonga 🎨

Adding a splash of winter color to brighten things up 🪴

Can't wait to see them in place! ✨

03/06/2026

Being creative at Te Aratu.😊

27/05/2026

New Zealand Community Trust (NZCT) have featured us on their News page 🙂

We are very grateful to NZCT for funding several of our community participation activities.

NZCT has awarded $7,978 to Rotorua’s Te Aratu Trust to support physical activity programmes for people with disabilities, helping deliver a range of activities including gym sessions, swimming, badminton, and community recreation for up to 80 people each year.

26/05/2026

We are i oti matou i te pānga (we have completed the puzzle 🧩).

Ākonga and I have been pottering along with this jigsaw puzzle that we finished today.

We will start the next puzzle āpōpō.
One that was kindly donated by one of our Ākonga.

25/05/2026

In crafts e tēnei ra, Whaea Rochelle offered the Ākonga the opportunity to try out the painting easels donated by the Rotorua Bowling Club.

"a picture paints a thousand words" (Fred R. Barnard, 1921).

Painting offers adults significant health and wellness advantages, such as those listed below.

* Reduced stress and anxiety
* It promotes relaxation
* Builds confidence through artistic accomplishment
* Provides a healthy, non-verbal outlet for emotional expression
* It can strengthen cognitive functions like memory, concentration, and spatial awareness
* It helps boost memory retention and sharpens mental agility, which supports long-term brain health
* Finishing a project and witnessing your own creative growth boosts confidence and self-worth

We look forward to seeing what other creative pursuits our Ākonga engage in!

21/05/2026

Crochet/knitting class 🧶
happens on Mondays from 09:30AM - 12PM with Kaiako Gloria to guide Ākonga to build confidence in meaningful activities grounded in Whānaungatanga, Manaakitanga and Whakamana.

These participants are working on knitting, crochet, and matting projects with a set goal in mind of what their projects will be used for; most of which are being made to give away to others.

21/05/2026

Our new website has gone live 💚

Strengthening connection, mana, hauora, and resilience for Tāngata Whaiora, Te Aratu Trust in Rotorua supports people with disabilities and mental health needs to build independence and meaningful community participation.

21/05/2026

Last week we had a puppy visit us, lots of cuddles and cuteness!

20/05/2026

Yesterday's Epilepsy New Zealand educational visit with Marjo Tenhagen went extremely well 🙂.

Ākonga and Kaiako learnt more about seizures and Epilepsy.
We feel more educated about what to do in the event of seizures.

Ākonga felt safe to ask questions that Marjo answered with explanations that suited the participants.

Marjo demonstrated what to do if someone has a seizure by having Te Rore act as our patient and called Whaea Nicky to help place him in the recovery position / stable side position.

There was lots of positive feedback about Marjo and the visit from Ākonga and Kaiako that will be forwarded onto Marjo.

We are grateful for these relationships with our community that helps us build reciprocal networks.
Ākonga and Kaiako now know where they can go to for questions, advice and guidance with seizures and Epilepsy.

Thank you Marjo!!