Mā te rongo ka mōhio: Listening as the Pathway to Wellbeing

“Mā te rongo ka mōhio, mā te mōhio ka mārama, mā te marama ka mātau, mā te mātau ka ora.”

Through listening comes understanding, through understanding comes clarity, through clarity comes knowledge, through knowledge comes wellbeing.

Across ten rohe, Te Huringa ō Te Ao has been connecting with over sixty providers through our Ako sessions, designed for providers to pause, reflect, and connect on their mahi. 

The sessions place reflective practice and learning loops at the heart of Te Huringa ō Te Ao. They’re not just meetings; they’re active, relational spaces that encourage collective insight and help weave local learning back into the wider system. Through these conversations, we begin to embed what truly works for tāne and their whānau strengthening how we walk alongside communities on their healing journeys.

Mataora and Niwareka activity, Southern Sept 2025

Listening to Tāne and Their Whānau

Throughout the Ako sessions, providers had shared tāne have spoken powerfully about what it means to be listened to. One shared how often tāne wanted providers to “talk with me, not to me,” but he still felt unheard. This reminded us that true listening means seeing beyond the surface to understand what’s really being said. Another spoke about the challenge of transformation, saying his whānau “don’t understand me with the change” and healing requires “whole-of-whānau support”.

These reflections highlight that for many tāne, the journey of wellbeing begins when others genuinely take time to hear their stories and walk beside them, when we “listen to men, not at them.”

Central Ako session, Sept 2025

Provider Reflections

Throughout the Ako sessions providers echoed these messages in their own ways. Many emphasised the importance of being intentional, that “no follow-up after a programme leads to broken relationships.” Others spoke about working with whānau as a unit and recognising the importance of supporting whānau holistically. They also reflected on their practice, saying: “our whānau and community are fluid; we need to be the same.”

This adaptability, combined with a deep practice of listening to learn and learning to listen, has become a core part of how Te Huringa ō Te Ao continues to grow and evolve.

Bay of Plenty Ako session, Sept 2025

Collective Learning and Ongoing Growth

Te Huringa ō Te Ao provided us an opportunity to be hoa haere as companions on this journey. It also gave us the space to slow down, reflect, and truly listen. Through every Ako session we were reminded that listening is not passive. It’s active, relational, and restorative.

Auckland Ako session, Oct 2025

Moving forward

By coming together, we build ongoing data and shared insight, but more importantly, we build trust and connection. It’s in these collective spaces that understanding turns into clarity, clarity into knowledge, and knowledge into wellbeing for tāne, for whānau, and for the communities we serve.