Paora Raharaha Run for Prisoners Kids

Kia ora whanau,

For those who come onto this page and don't know me, my name is Paora Dakota Raharaha. I am 25 years old. A proud Maori boy from a small town called Paeroa.

A bit about me:

I was born in Te Aroha, New Zealand on the 25th of August 1992 and moved to Paeroa when I was 3 years old. Growing up I went Te Kohanga Reo in Paeroa until I was 5 years old then I went to Paeroa Central School and after I finished there I attended Paeroa College. I never passed all my NCEA levels at High School because I didn't really like going to school and found it hard learning. I started getting into trouble at Primary School which lead onto bigger things. The year after High School I went to Jail for the first time, I done just under a year inside, I come out and 2 months later I landed back in Jail and found myself doing 3 and a half years. I got released last year and decided I wanted to change because if I didn't I would've hurt more people and most of all my FAMILY who love me dearly.

GETTING RELEASED FROM PRISON:

When I come out of Prison I moved to Hamilton and it was good for me because I met people who helped me. Even though I wasn't staying with my family they were still helping me re-integrate back into society and so much more. When I started applying for jobs I was getting turned away because of my criminal record and I almost went back to my old life. But instead I thought ' I will run my own business one day ' So I went into Te Wananga O Aotearoa and studied for the first time. I studied Money Management and graduated this year which meant I could study Small Business Management. So I went and studied Small Business Management and just completed it. I also went into study to be a Personal Trainer and when I completed that in June I wanted to open up business as a P.T so I did. I almost gave up everything I worked hard for because things were getting tough for me. I was studying 2 papers and ended up working 5 days a week and I was training people and doing speaking gigs with Department of Corrections, which meant I had to drop a few things.

That’s when I learnt about SACRIFICE, in order for me to get to my GOALS AND DREAMS I have to sacrifice. People said to me that I wouldn't make which I reminded myself of and it helped me to soldier on when times got tough for me. It was late nights and early mornings for me and it was lots of time away from my family. It was a lonely journey in a sense because I had to focus on my studies, i was getting tired and it showed in everything I was doing. I knew that I had to dig deep. I learnt that I had to use to my anger and frustration to my advantage, when I was angry I'd go for a run and found that I could run further and faster, obviously it didn't solve the issue but when I finished the run I was in a better state to make the decision.

I learnt a lot growing up and experienced things that I don't want other people to go through as I know it's a very painful process not just for myself but also my Family.

My Graduation for Small Business Management is in 2018 and it'll be between March and May. I will confirm the actual time and day a month before graduation as I haven’t got confirmation from Te Wananga O Aotearoa on when it is. I'll be running from the most beautiful place in the world my Marae in Paeroa to Hamilton on the day of my Graduation and I will be raising money for Prisoners Kids Charity.