Casper Haka4Life: Nationwide mass Haka on Waitangi Day

Media Release
04 Feb 2013

Casper Haka4Life: A mass Haka taking place Nationwide on Waitangi Day

This Waitangi Day (Wednesday 6th February), Kiwis around the nation will break the silence surrounding Youth Suicide, to take part in a nationwide Haka.

The challenge was first taken up by Casper Haka4 Life organisers Anaru Barton and Daniel Clarke, who are creating a record-breaking attempt Haka at Waitangi, where they believe they can beat the record of 2200 people taking part. Since this announcement, Casper supporters throughout the country have taken to organising their own Haka which will also take place at 12.30pm on February 6th, 2013. Other regions taking part in this event are: Putaruru, Tokoroa, Hastings, Paraparaumu and Invercargill.

The Haka will be followed by a powerful message on one of the Waitangi stages from organizer Anaru Barton, a young Glen Innes musician Tomas Ngapera and Maria Bradshaw, the founder of Casper, an organisation that supports families bereaved by suicide and promotes suicide prevention, family support services, and community and youth education.

According to Bradshaw the event aims to challenging the government on the current state of youth suicide prevention and lack of quality suicide education in New Zealand.

“We live in a society that lacks conversations about suicide and the experiential contributors to youth taking their own lives,” says Bradshaw.

• NZ has the highest rate of youth suicide in the OECD, twice the rate of the US and Australia and five times the rate of the UK. Last year there was a 46% increase in youth suicide.
• 11 New Zealanders take their lives every week in NZ.
• Suicide rates of Maori and Pacific youth are 70% higher than those of other young New Zealanders.

The organisers of Haka4Life extend an invitation to all Kiwis to make change and break the silence. Instructions on how to take part in the Haka4Life are on the Casper facebook page www.facebook.com/Caspercommunity. Anyone interested in running their own Casper Haka4Life event in their community can contact maria@casper.org.nz

CASPER "Haka 4 Life" – 12.30pm, February 6th 2013 – It’s time for clarity, hope and change!

www.casper.org.nz

ENDS

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