Before Amend existed, Watene “Wa” Waenga was already deep in the trenches, working where pain hides and potential is often overlooked.

For five years, he served inside the Department of Child Safety, supporting children removed from unsafe homes and helping those who had disconnected from school re-engage with education. He stood alongside kids whose stories mirrored his own, trauma, loss, and the feeling the world had given up on them.

Later, Wa moved into education, teaching at a school for boys excluded from the mainstream system. For eight years, he ran a mobile classroom, driving into neighbourhoods, knocking on doors, sitting in parks, doing whatever it took to reach the most disconnected boys in the community. But behind the scenes, every lesson he taught was also one he still needed to learn himself.

From that truth and a deep desire to heal himself while helping others, Amend Movement was born in December 2019.

It started simply: men’s walks. No classrooms. No therapy talk. Just men walking side by side, no pressure, no shame, just honest conversations, grounded presence and a space to finally let their guard down. These walks became sacred ground for men who were silently breaking behind closed doors. For the first time, they weren’t expected to “harden up” or “fix it” they were simply invited to show up.

The impact was undeniable.
The walks turned into circles. Circles turned into community. Soon, women began showing up too, drawn by the safety, honesty, and hunger for healing. From 2019 to 2022, Amend welcomed both men and women through workshops, retreats, and mentoring programs, each one built around one simple truth: healing happens in safe, real connection.

But over time, the mission became clear. Not because women didn’t belong, but because something vital was missing in too many homes, relationships, and families:

Strong, grounded, emotionally present men.

In 2023, Alan Ward joined the leadership team. Alan had walked his own path through pain, breakdown, and breakthrough—and when he and Wa came together, the vision sharpened.

They saw what men were crying out for, a new model of leadership that didn’t start with power or dominance, but with healing, integrity, and emotional strength. So Amend returned, fully and unapologetically, to its roots: men’s work. We refined our programs, restructured our spaces, and poured everything into building what we now believe is the most important work in our communities:

Helping men become emotional leaders, build safe homes and create healthy relationships.

Because when a man heals, his children grow up safer. When a man leads with heart, his partner feels seen.
and when a man finds peace within himself, he stops passing his pain to everyone around him.

This is Amend Movement. Not self-help. Not a quick fix. But a call to rebuild from the inside out.

We work with men from all walks of life, fathers who are determined to break generational cycles and raise their children in emotionally safe, connected homes, men preparing for fatherhood who want to lay a strong foundation before their children arrive, and partners who are committed to creating healthy, honest, and lasting relationships. We also support single men who are choosing to do the work now so they are ready for the life and love they want next, as well as men who grew up without role models and are ready to become the example they never had.

No matter where you’re starting from, change begins the moment you decide to do the work.

From the shadows of Aotearoa to the streets of Australia, and even into parts of Europe, we’ve stepped into spaces most people never will, gang headquarters, recovery homes, classrooms, and prison cells. We’ve never waited for men to come to us. We go where healing is needed.

Over the years, we’ve stood alongside former servicemen, ex-military, police officers, tactical response teams, current and former gang members, school teachers, and everyday men, from blue-collar to white-collar, from every culture and race.

The beauty of what we do is in the spaces we create. In our rooms, no one knows each other’s history. There is no judgement, no hierarchy, only trust, safety, and the shared courage to speak openly. We believe every man deserves to feel safe, to be seen, and to have a voice. This is where deep community healing begins.

And now, we’re building a future where emotional leadership is the standard, where men lead from the inside out, and the ripple effect transforms homes, relationships, and generations.