The Maori translation of ‘Oho Ake’ means to ‘Awaken’ and ‘Rise Up’. The Oho Ake programme developed by Kaleidoscope has at its core the desire and dedication to work along side serious spinal cord injury clients and to see them ‘awaken’ and ‘rise up’ to reach their full potential.

More specifically ‘Oho Ake’ is a vocational rehabilitation programme developed by Kaleidoscope for people that have spent a period of time unemployed after a spinal injury. The aim of Oho Ake is to motivate, educate and empower clients to return to the workforce.

Also integral to the programme is self -determination, which is just a practical recognition that clients have the rights, the need, and the freedom to make their own choices and decisions. Oho Ake acknowledges that people mature and develop a sense of who they are through making their own choices. Even though people may get tired and discouraged at times as they struggle with various challenges, client self-confidence and satisfaction emerge not when practitioners take over for clients but rather when clients exercise responsibility and live with the consequences of their choices.

As in all Kaleidoscope programmes the Kaleidoscope team provide the skills, knowledge and support for the client, but the client runs the process, takes responsibility for the decisions, and ultimately secures employment themselves.

The aims of the Oho Ake programme is to help the client to:

1. Clarify their passions and interests and how these can tie into future employment.
2. Identify the many skills, attributes and experience the client possess, which are transferable into employment.
3. Discover their beliefs, values, strengths and inner power they have within themselves to make significant changes in their lives and realise their fullest potential.

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