Ā mātou kōrero

This week our team had a fabulous day together, utilising the strengths finder framework to mobilise the energy we need as a team, to respond to the ever-present challenge of the Whānau Ora approach.  One of our tasks in the…

Last Sunday night, I travelled up to Motuweka/Motueka to take part in the launch of Waka Whenua.    On my Dad’s side I have ancestors lying in the family cemetery at Lower Moutere Valley, in Motuweka itself and Riuwaka/Riwaka.   The…

The images coming over the newswires have been staggering.   The land literally ripped apart.   Pāua and koura stranded on a desolate seashore.   Piles of rubble all that are left of homes.    A group of cows perched perilously on a hilltop…

At dawn on Sunday the 6th of November 2016 the waka Tara-ki-uta and Tara-ki-tai were blessed by Matua Tom Mathews on the shores of Kaiteriteri Beach at the top of the South. The blessing was supported by Uncle Rore and…

Transformation through Innovation The late composer and musician, Hirini Melbourne, wrote a beautiful waiata Pūrerehua, which is frequently heard sung in our kōhanga and our home. Pürerehua rere runga hau, Papaki parirau, Rere runga hau; (Ka piki, ka piki Runga…

So said Dan Flynn, 2014 Victorian Young Australian of the Year; social entrepreneur and keynote speaker at the Festival For the Future last weekend in Auckland.   At the age of 19 Dan and his mates had a crazy idea, “what…

I came across an image on Instagram that took my fancy this week – in many ways it summed up Whānau Ora; that all-consuming, all-embracing love that our parents gift us.   We can do no wrong, even though on a…

And then my heart with pleasure fillsAnd dances with daffodils.~ William Wordsworth ~       Hagley Park in Christchurch was bathed in daffodils this week; a fitting sign of spring for the hui held in the Atrium on Wednesday…

There’s a phrase that goes, you never really know someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.  This week in Masterton, in recognition of World Suicide Day, 564 pairs of shoes were laid out to represent every New Zealand…

Me he manawā tītī, me tōhona hirika“With the famed strength and perseverance of the tītī.” This whakataukī, often used as a metaphor for a person with great endurance, came to mind this week through the activities and enthusiasm of two…