Kaitiaki o Ara - the essence of SADD
Today we share something we have been focused on for a while. Not only have we worked on capturing our essence in a name, but also how we demonstrate that. It's been a long process culminating in the blessing ceremony which we also share with you at the end of this article. Prior to the blessing we went through a phase of finding the right name, a meaning that captures the essence of SADD but also describes the journey that our rangatahi take when growing up. Eventually, we all agreed to the name Kaitiaki o Ara. Ash explains: “The name's meaning is really up for interpretation, as we always say. Te reo Māori has so many different meanings for different words. On the surface the meaning of Kaitiaki o Ara means guardians of the road. That refers to us youth, the rangatahi, the National Leaders and everybody who is part of SADD and contributes to the activities. The deeper meaning is guardians of the path. We wanted it to reflect not only our core purpose around road safety but also about the rangatahi perspective, the youth voice and supporting our leaders. We want to make sure they are uplifted, this is where Kaitiaki comes in. “ "Everyone who is part of SADD is Kaitiaki of the road”. Sterling adds “It is more about the rangatahi itself and how they can protect their own journey as they grow up”. Here is the link to our interview that explains in detail how the name Kaitiaki O Ara came about and the meaning behind it. You can chose to use the names together SADD/Kaitiaki o Ara, or use SADD or Kaitiaki o Ara for your group. You can read more on the journey to our new SADD name on our blog
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