TŌKU PŪRĀKAU

Tōku Pūrākau – My Story is a comprehensive and innovative programme designed to empower ākonga - students aged 12 to 19 by fostering increased confidence, engagement in learning, and goal setting. The programme takes a holistic approach that embraces personal growth, academic excellence, and career exploration. 

Programme Summary

Our programme supports the following outcomes for young people:

  • increased engagement and confidence with school
  • improved aspiration for their onward journey
  • a clear plan for the future for older ākonga
  • stronger connections with support services
  • enhanced understanding of perspective, connection and wellbeing
  • Personalised ‘kete’ of coping tools and strategies


Youthtown has a strong track record of working with ākonga dealing with difficult transitions both within and outside the traditional educational space. Working preventatively, we use a strengths-based approach to encourage, foster, and model quality relationships with ākonga across two age cohorts within Tōku Pūrākau: school years 8-10 and 11-13. Included for each ākonga are Youthtown-led Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC) experiences (younger), group and one-to-one coaching, enterprise and employability skill building (older), and engagement with local activities and services.

The programme is funded through the MYD Ākonga Youth Development Community Fund.

How do we know it works? 

Tōku Pūrākau - My Story takes its heritage from the very best tried-and-tested youth development mahi we’ve undertaken in over 90 years of working with children and young people. We bring our knowledge of how to craft transformative experiences for young people into a carefully curated programme.

This programme is designed to meet the specific needs of young people experiencing disengagement and disconnection from their worlds. The Tōku Pūrākau Theory of Change below shows our rationale: