Years later, when Sarah began teaching, she watched numerous young people slip through the cracks and knew there had to be a better way to engage, support and inspire rangatahi. This led Sarah to set up Ngā Rangatahi Toa, an organisation recognised internationally for its creative youth development work.

Through support from Te Rourou, One Aotearoa Foundation, Sarah and her team worked with South Auckland students excluded from mainstream school. Creative arts and wellbeing programmes reconnected rangatahi with their potential and purpose, making it possible to imagine a positive future for themselves, their whānau and their community.

“What we were interested in was the ripple effect. How the changes we made with our young people would spread through the wider community,” Sarah says. 

Using a teaching-artist model, Ngā Rangatahi Toa reached young people through creativity. Contemporary dance, spoken word poetry, music and theatre are a catalyst for the vital life skills of self-love, acceptance, and critical and creative thinking. And it really made a difference - the work of Ngā Rangatahi Toa creates an environment in which rangatahi can change their own lives through re-engaging in education and taking up employment opportunities.

“Te Rourou, One Aotearoa Foundation World of Difference grant was life changing for me and for the organisation” Sarah reports. “It wasn’t just about the money but also the support and the mentoring that came with it. My relationship with Te Rourou, One Aotearoa Foundation is about people, connection and change. It is about inspiring all of Aotearoa to have the courage to be their best selves,” says Sarah.