Taradale students' Pūkare Cards part of Young Enterprise Scheme
A group of young start-up students have an ambitious product that aims to utilize te reo Māori and emotive cards to help youth express themselves. Four students from Taradale High School have created Pūkere Cards, a business concept as part of the Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme.
Year 12 Tom Little is the CEO, Year 12 Liv Fountain is the marketing manager, Year 12 Elizabeth Raitaci is the executive administration officer and Year 13 Jasmine Paz is the CFO. Pūkere cards are a teaching tool for communication, 25 cards each with a different emotion and scenarios on the back weaving in te reo Māori throughout. Tom explained that pūkare means to express emotion and feelings and to be evocative. He said they wanted to create something that was meaningful, innovative and would help them. "When I was younger I struggled with ADHD and I would have benefited from something like this to help express my emotions."
Liv said children with a disability who are non-verbal have a need for a product like this. "They can find it hard to express themselves in different situations and it can sometimes become quite overwhelming and frustrating for them." Elizabeth said the use of te reo was a good point of difference for their product as well as helping to incorporate Aotearoa-New Zealand culture into it.
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