About this episode

Mark Haimona discusses the importance of culturally grounded drowning prevention strategies and community engagement in water safety education.

Episode Notes May 5, 2026 Kia Maanu, Kia Ora! Stay Afloat, Stay Alive ! Mark Haimona is a leading Māori water safety educator and researcher from Aotearoa New Zealand whose work has helped reshape Indigenous drowning-prevention strategies through culturally grounded education and community engagement. His career has focused on moving beyond traditional Western lifeguarding models toward approaches that connect directly with communities, culture, and environment. His work has had strong influence internationally, including in Hawaiʻi, where Native Hawaiian watermen, researchers, and educators have looked to Māori-led models for guidance in developing culturally relevant prevention strategies. Mark’s philosophy and outreach methods helped influence the thinking of Hawaiʻi water safety advocates, including work connected to John “Kalei” Clark and broader Native Hawaiian waterman traditions that emphasize environmental knowledge, ocean awareness, and intergenerational teaching. A central theme of the discussion was that effective drowning prevention must be culturally grounded. Mark emphasized that Westernized, one-size-fits-all approaches often fail to reach Indigenous communities…

People in this episode

Guest: Mark Haimona

Topics covered

• water safety
• Indigenous education
• drowning prevention
• community engagement
• cultural strategies

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Aotearoa New Zealand, Hawaiʻi

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