Ā mātou kōrero

  I loved a conversation I watched on social media this week responding to the question ‘what do we do with a broken pounamu’?.    Ngāi Tahu wise woman (and Chief Values Officer for Ngāi Tahu Holdings) Charisma Rangipunga responded…

  E kore rātou e koroheketia, penei i a tātou kua mahue nei E kore hoki rātou e ngoikore, Ahakoa pēhea i ngā āhuatanga o te wā I te hekenga atu o te rā, tae noa ki te aranga mai…

  As our international speaker, Jo Ann Kaufmann boarded the plane back to the Nez Perce Reservation, (Kamiah, Idaho) she posted a message to us all:  “Congratulations on the wonderful and groundbreaking work you all do at Te Putahitanga.  I…

  Today New Zealanders donned gumboots of all descriptions  – thigh-high freezing worker boots; flamingo pink designer boots, red band classics, Mum’s ankle high gardening boots and my own fairly unoriginal shiny black boots.   All we needed was our kamuputu…

  Ko Tātou, Tātou.    We are one. One in our universal grief; one in the lament that flows from tears of sorrow at the loss of fifty loved ones – family members, workers, citizens, Muslim. One in our new knowledge…

  There was one word that the Imam repeated at the end of the call for prayer than rung through New Zealand on Friday at 1.32pm. Aroha.   Aroha. Aroha.   Kaiwhakakotahitanga tātou. The love that was demonstrated by people opening…

  As you wake this morning, to the aftermath of this heinous experience, you will be stunned, disbelieving, sad, devastated.   Love is our answer. Darkness is broken by the light. Please hold strong to hope; to wrap loving arms…

  “There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need…

  There is a Vietnamese proverb, “when biting into an apple, think about the person who planted it”.  For me, a simple apple has the ability to transport me back in time to the turn of the twentieth century, when…

     I have been thinking a lot about courage.   The ability to dare to dream; the strength required to bring unpleasant truths to the surface; the bold presence of mind to name injustices; to claim a position; to portray…