Makanihi had been given this great opportunity to attend the festival with her Kapa Haka group, He Waka Kotuia who had been asked to perform to represent Aotearoa.
"I am so proud to be a member of He Waka Kotuia, the waka that interweaves us together Since moving to Dunedin last year and not really knowing anyone this kapa haka cultural group has interweaved me into a community, into a family, into a school of learning that supports and encourages me to achieve goals that I thought I would never reach." said Makanihi.
Makanihi talked about how life wasn't always easy for her, so an opportunity to attend a cultural exchange trip to Canada where she performed with the local communities of the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations, sounded too good to be true.
Makanihi and her group worked really hard to ensure they could represent our beautiful country and our beautiful culture well.
Now for any 16 year old, travelling to the other side of the world is a dream come true. The $5,000 needed to attend is when reality settles back in. Especially when your family necessarily can't afford to pay the ticket for you.
Makanihi was very resourceful though, she worked extra shifts at her part time job. She made poi to sell, She had people selling cakes and prepared meals, she had hairdressers cutting hair she even had a tattoo artist raffling off his work. She also set up her own fundraising page on TicketSuite and managed to collect the remaining funds she needed just in time.
In early June Makanihi set off to British Columbia where she lived with the local indigenous communities, learning their culture and way of life. She performed on stage at the cultural festival with the rest of her group and her passion for culture and language grew.
Upon returning to Aotearoa, her group entered into the regional's for Matatini 2018. This is the national kapa haka competition and not only did her group take out first place to represent her region but Makanihi won the Kaitātaki Wahine, the female leading role. A great step towards going to the national competition
A family member said "We are a proud whānau of Makanihi who won first place Kaitātaki Wahine and whose Kapa Haka Roopu won first overall and will represent our region at the nationals. You defiintely deserve a night off from doing the dishes! Well done honey"
We here at TicketSuite are proud of this young wahine and proud of everyone who made a donation. It really is amazing just what our young people can achieve when they have many people supporting them.
It's amazing the difference a donation can make!
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