OUR FOUNDER

Makaia Carr has always had a passion for supporting rangatahi, in particular young māori boys and girls. Inspired by a local school’s “compassion freezer”, Makaia loved the idea of giving families direct help through a home-cooked meal, and the Kura Kai concept was born.

One of New Zealand’s original social media influencers, Makaia is using her social media platforms to spread the Kura Kai message and attract support to help take Kura Kai to more and more High Schools.

Her work targets high schools because the teen years can be that crucial “fork in the road” period when rangatahi often come under pressure to make some big decisions, ones that can impact the course of their future. Too many of our rangatahi are having to leave their education to gain employment at an early age to help financially support their whanau, sadly ending their education far too early. 

“When helping teenagers, there can be a lot of whakamā (shame). So we try to help empower them by giving them access to the kai so they can make the choice and have options available to help someone in their whānau or in the community that they have identified as needing a bit of support,” says Makaia, who was herself a young mum.

It is Makaia’s hope that the Kura Kai freezers become an accessible hub of kai that the wider school community enjoy using and hopefully give teens and their whānau just one more reason to stay in school and focus on their education.

 OUR FOUNDER

Makaia Carr has always had a passion for supporting rangatahi, in particular young māori boys and girls. Inspired by a local school’s “compassion freezer”, Makaia loved the idea of giving families direct help through a home-cooked meal, and the Kura Kai concept was born.

One of New Zealand’s original social media influencers, Makaia is using her social media platforms to spread the Kura Kai message and attract support to help take Kura Kai to more and more High Schools.

Her work targets high schools because the teen years can be that crucial “fork in the road” period when rangatahi often come under pressure to make some big decisions, ones that can impact the course of their future. Too many of our rangatahi are having to leave their education to gain employment at an early age to help financially support their whanau, sadly ending their education far too early. 

“When helping teenagers, there can be a lot of whakamā (shame). So we try to help empower them by giving them access to the kai so they can make the choice and have options available to help someone in their whānau or in the community that they have identified as needing a bit of support,” says Makaia, who was herself a young mum.

It is Makaia’s hope that the Kura Kai freezers become an accessible hub of kai that the wider school community enjoy using and hopefully give teens and their whānau just one more reason to stay in school and focus on their education.