Our Story

Kia ora.
Nau mai ki Kaikaranga. Welcome to Kaikaranga.

We’re your first voice in disability support. We’re here to help disabled people and their whānau live their best lives, their way. And this is our story.

Young boy excitedly trying on his wheelchair, mum is in the background

Our beginnings

Our story begins in 2001, around the kitchen table of one of our founders. Taikura’s founders were a like-minded group of mana whenua, disabled people and Pacific communities. Connected by lived and professional experience, they understood a NASC‘s role in the disability support system was to ensure access to support for people and whānau.

They developed a shared vision; to empower disabled people and their whānau to have the support they need, gain their independence, and have choice and control over their own lives.

Taikura Trust was registered as a charitable organisation in late 2001. In 2002, Taikura Trust secured the contract to provide NASC services in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland – becoming New Zealand’s first and only iwi-owned NASC. In its role as a NASC, Taikura Trust provided needs assessments for thousands of disabled people, operating as the gateway to the disability support system, which was funded by the Ministry of Health at the time.

A graphic displaying the Taikura Trust and Kaikaranaga logos side by side

From Taikura Trust to Kaikaranga

Over the years, we expanded beyond a NASC, and into wrap-around support for tāngata whaikaha, their families and whānau. To create space for Taikura Trust’s ever-growing services, a charitable holding company was established in 2020. It was named Kaikaranga, and it marked an evolution. From the foundational rock of Taikura Trust, to a far-reaching welcoming call for disabled people and their whānau.

Kaikaranga today

Today, Kaikaranga is the connecting thread and singular voice for disabled people living throughout the Auckland region. We support 35% of disabled New Zealanders who receive DSS-funded support​ in Aotearoa New Zealand. And through their wider whānau, friends, and communities, we touch the lives of thousands more.

Led by the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and the guidance of Taikura Trust, Kaikaranga is embarking on the next phase of this journey. Bringing renewed energy to our long-held mission to empower disabled people to live life on their own terms.

The story behind our name

From the sea to the land

We continue to hold firm to the strong foundation laid by our parent organisation Taikura Trust. The Trust was named for the feeding rock off the coast of Ngāti Kahungunu whenua that calls to the children of Tangaroa. We now call from the land to the people to connect or reconnect with us as Kaikaranga.

The role of the kaikaranga is revered in te ao Māori. It comes with immense mana and responsibility.  

Mana inherited from Papatūānuku and through the maternal role women hold in te ao Māori and all humanity. The first voice heard on the marae, the role of kaikaranga demonstrates strength, wisdom and empathy.  

Read more about the story behind our name
Our vision and mission

Our values

These are the core values we live by. They’re our guiding principles, and they make us who we are.

Always put people first

He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata he tangata he tangata!

What is the most important thing in the world? It is people it is people it is people!

Be someone others can count on

He toka tū moana he ākinga nā ngā tai.

Steadfast as the rock that scorns the lashing tides.

Do what is right, not what is easy

Kia mau koe ki te aka matua, kei mau koe ki te aka taepa.

Hold fast to the parent vine, take not hold of the loose vine.

Ignite ideas for a better tomorrow

Poipoia te kākano kia puāwai.

Nurture the seed and it will bloom.

Enabling Good Lives (EGL)

The last decade has seen the disability support system transform to align with the Enabling Good Lives principles, and Kaikaranga is no exception. Our EGL journey began in 2019. Today, these principles are deeply embedded into the way we work and the results we strive for.

  • Disabled people are in control of their lives.

  • Starting investment early, by building a community and support system that gives disabled people the opportunity to grow their independence.

  • Providing support tailored to the specific needs of individual people, with a holistic whole-life view instead of a disconnected cross-programme approach.

  • Supporting disabled people to live their everyday lives just like others their age, with opportunities to learn, have jobs, homes and families, and take part in social activities.

  • Giving disabled people the opportunity to access mainstream services, before considering specialist disability support services.

  • Recognising, respecting and upholding the abilities and contributions of disabled people and their whānau.

  • Connecting disabled people with supports that are designed to be flexible, simple and easy to use.

  • Working to foster and nurture connections and relationships between disabled people, their whānau and their wider community.