Joel married young and he and his wife then opened their arms, and their home, to his community’s rangatahi. Taking these kids fishing, hunting, and diving, Joel helped them open up about any issues they were facing.

Many ended up living with Joel and his wife, and with a stable, family home and Joel’s encouragement, these young people stayed at school, took their exams, and ended up with good jobs and a brighter future.

During this time Joel’s name was put forward for Tuia, a youth leadership programme supported by Te Rourou, One Aotearoa Foundation. During this programme, Joel got to tell his story and hear the stories of others in the programme. “I thought: this is really inspiring, how do I take this and change the world? How do I take this back to Woodville where it will work for our kids?”.

One of first things Joel did was to establish the Wharetītī Māori Culture Club, this being more of a revival as Joel followed in the footsteps of his father Dick Mudford, who helped found the group almost 60 years ago to allow young Māori within the Tararua area to rediscover the mana of their heritage.

“The funding from Te Rourou, One Aotearoa Foundation enabled me to take part in Tuia and that has amplified everything I do,” Joel says. “I made connections all over Aotearoa with different leaders and they’ve helped and supported me for some of the other youth projects I’m doing now. It’s inspired me to take everything to the next level.”