Something that doesn't suck

There’s a lot right now that sucks.

Cost of living.
Landlords prioritised over our children being able to afford a home.
Social media and algorithms that intentionally amplify conflict and division.

....but you’re part of something that doesn’t suck: Community. Kohtahitanga.
When you give, you get good vibes.

You feel good because you remember you’re in a relationship with the world - you’re not here alone.

It’s beautifully simple, and incredibly smart when you think about it. As a species, we’re safer and stronger when we work together. So our brains are wired to reward us when we do.

The act of giving, making someone else feel good, makes you as a person feel better because it makes us a people do better. That’s what kotahitanga is for - it’s not some abstract concept or feel-good campaign someone came up with on social media. It’s the foundational survival of a species - we’ve never existed as individual animals, we’ve always been a part of communities, villages, clans, iwi. Sometimes we forget that.

Our Shoebox Christmas community is a reminder and (hopefully) a prompt to be a community whenever we can. I love seeing everyone help each other out in the Facebook group with answers to questions, sharing the koha they’ve put together as inspiration, and being a community. If you’ve played a part in that, thank you!

There are projects up and down Aotearoa, led from and by those communities themselves, showing our tamariki we care.

We’ve also got some awesome kaupapa focused on giving back to our kaumātua too! Just choose Shoebox Christmas - Kaumātua (Elders) in the Project Type on Koha Tree.

Every year, teams and workplaces take part in Shoebox Christmas as a group. It’s hard to sum up how great an experience that can be, as well as what’s involved, so Arita and I created an interactive kōrero here.

Join as a team

Talk soon,

Pera