Ngā mihi o te tau hou Pākehā ki a tātou katoa! On behalf of Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu, I am wishing whānau across the motu all the best for the new year, and hoping that you have all enjoyed a happy and relaxing holiday period.

As our kaimahi return to the office after the holiday break, we are filled with a sense of opportunity and potential as we set our intentions for the coming weeks and months. Not only is it the beginning of a new calendar year, it is also the beginning of application periods for two of our most significant funds – Wave and Tai Neke Tai Ora.

Wave 17 is opening next week, and we are looking forward to welcoming a new wave of applications as the Whānau Ora movement continues to spread across the motu. Our Wave funding rounds always bring in a myriad of innovative and imaginative ideas, and we love seeing the creativity of whānau as they dream of new opportunities. If you’ve got an idea for a kaupapa that will benefit your whānau and community, Wave funding is for you – a new kaupapa, a wānanga or event you want to get off the ground, and everything in between.

At the end of last year we worked with the teams at Ariki Creative and NAIA to put together this beautiful promotional video for Wave 17. It tells the story of Little Shop of Taonga, one of our Wave entities who ended 2022 by opening a physical shop in Kaiapoi.

This is the realisation of a long-held dream for business owners, Dion and Jade Hancy, who first applied for Wave funding to support their online business selling tools and taonga created using natural resources. As their business has grown, so too have their aspirations and they are now proud to welcome customers to the Little Shop of Taonga store for a unique, tailored shopping experience. We are so proud of Dion and Jade and everything they have achieved through their vision, dedication and hard mahi, and we hope they serve as an inspiration for whānau throughout the motu who are dreaming of creating a different way of life. Wave 17 will open next Monday – visit our website to learn more, download the application form and check out the dates for our upcoming roadshows!

For those whānau who are passionate about hauora, and interested in running a kaupapa that supports whānau to stay healthy and thrive, Tai Neke Tai Ora might be the right fund for you. We will be welcoming applications for this fund the following week, and we’re looking for passionate and enthusiastic people who want to make a difference to the wellbeing of whānau across Te Waipounamu.

Between Wave 17 and Tai Neke Tai Ora, we are hoping to fund a new generation of kaupapa that will support whānau and uplift wellbeing across the motu. Whatever your dream is, we are here to support you.

Sharae Sinclair, Heylie Rimene, James Kauri, Abbey-Lee Mackenzie-Epiha, Deedee Bancroft Wickens

Pōwhiri at Te Hauora o Ngāti Rārua

This week our Pou Whirinaki ki Te Tauihu, Deedee Bancroft had the pleasure of attending a pōwhiri for three new Whānau Ora Navigators (Sharae, Heylie and Abbey-Lee) and a new Ahuru Poipoia (Krystal) for Te Hauora o Ngāti Rārua. It was a beautiful sunny day in Te Tauihu and a whole heap of whānau and friends came along to tautoko the newest members of the team.

It was wonderful for Deedee to meet the new members of the NavNation, who will join James next week to complete their Whānau Ora Navigation team. We look forward to working with this amazing rōpū over the coming months!

Wānanga Ikura in Ōtautahi

If you’re living in Ōtautahi and want to learn more about ikura (menstrual cycles), head along to this event hosted by Para Kore next Tuesday, 17 January at the Richmond. The whakapapa of the word ikura reminds us that as wāhine Māori, we were fashioned by atua at Kurawaka. The many names for our menstrual flow in te ao Māori signals our connection to atua, to our lands, to generations before and those yet to come. The wānanga is delivered from a Māori worldview, and covers the different period products available. This includes kōrero on single-use and reusable products, and the cost and environmental impact of each. The wānanga is a safe space for whanaungatanga and kōrero to empower participants to understand their natural cycles and to care for themselves and Papatūānuku. Click here to register.