LOGIN:
A new moon teaches gradualness and deliberation and how one gives birth to oneself slowly. Patience with small details makes perfect a large work, like the universe. What nine months of attention does for an embryo forty early mornings will do for your gradually growing wholeness – Rumi
I’ve been a reluctant follower of New Year resolutions. I start with a hiss and a roar, but always set my sights unrealistically high and before long I’m thinking I’ll just try again next time.
But the beauty of the maramataka is that every 28 days, the new moon forms out of a blanket of darkness to present us with a fresh canvas to paint, a next start. Each night carries a name according to the maramataka. For example, Whiro is the first night of the new moon, Tirea is the second night, and so on until Mutuwhenua, the last night.
By observing the phases of the moon and its process of becoming full, we can remind ourselves of the pathway of nature, the ebb and the flow.
We are gifted with the bounty of a mystical moon; a natural connection to transformation, growth and abundance. As the tides swell and fall on our shores, we can plant and fish relying on the wisdom of the moon and the tides to inspire our lives.
This week the full moon has shone upon all of us – its radiance sending a glow to the protesters in their tents; to the health workers exhausted after a frantic day of testing; to the politicians and public servants toiling over policy shifts; to the mums and dads doing their best. It reminds us of the fragility – and futility – of the emotional whiplash that threatens conversations which start with “They should just…..”.The full moon is a powerful symbol to look at life in its wholeness; to consider what we can do to contribute; to remain optimistic in the pathway to realising our hopes and desires.
On Tuesday some of our kaimahi had the incredible privilege to attend an online seminar delivered by Whānau Ora champion Tā Mason Durie. He was generous enough to share his mātauranga with us, and we came away inspired and renewed in our resolve to do whatever it takes to support our whānau and communities.
As part of his whakaaro, he expanded upon the way in which effective supports and services can honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi, namely:
He used the vaccination campaign as an example of the act of protection, reminding us that we need to act to protect all our taonga – our whānau – as is fitting under Article Two of Te Tiriti. This means we need to step up and actively protect, with the vaccine mandates, the booster rollout, tamariki vaccinations and Phase Two of the Omicron being uppermost in our thoughts.
Another highlight was the practical examples of applying Te Whare Tapa Wha into practice – for example when it comes to taha wairua, the multiple ways in which the spirit can be lifted.
It was great to hear the announcement from Hon David Parker, the Minister for Environment, about funding from the Jobs for Nature for freshwater clean-up projects. One of these projects is with Ngāti Koata Trust who will receive $759,000 over four and half years for their Securing the mauri of Moawhitu project. The project aims to restore Moawhitu through a multi-partner initiative. The project partners will undertake targeted restoration of Lake Moawhitu water quality, re-introduction of woody habitat for taonga species, and revegetation of indigenous plants. It is expected to create 8.4 FTE.
This week we received an update from one of our Wave entities, Elite Wool Industry. They made a successful application to deliver Tauira o Te Ahumahi Wūru, a kaupapa Māori approach to professional and cultural development within the wool industry. Led by Kelly Macdonald, this nine-month programme is supporting five young wool handlers in the Otago region to incorporate hauora Māori into their practice, by building their awareness of te whare tapa whā and giving them a roadmap to the four dimensions of good health and wellbeing. Click here to watch a video about this amazing kaupapa.
Vanessa Whangapirita, Janice Lee, Sister Judith and Tiki the dog.
This week our two Vanessas (Vanessa Hutchins and Vanessa Whangapirita) accompanied Janice Lee of Koha Kai on a visit to Korimako Gardens. Korimako is a place where community groups (including Koha Kai) converge to practise sustainable living, growing, harvesting and educating to ensure the generations of today garner knowledge to pass onto the generations of tomorrow.
In 2000 Sister Judith had the vision and foresight for Korimako, a sacred place to connect with papatuanuku and the natural environment. Kura visit to explore the food forest, experience picking freshly grown vegetables and to learn about food systems. Community groups encourge sustainable living like bee keeping, composting and harnessing the power of Tama-nui-te-rā, the sun, through solar.
Based on our current data, there are 1103 active cases of children under 10 years of age with COVID-19; and another 1624 children under 20. Together they make up 31.4 percent of all cases.
For tamariki Māori, the situation is even more pronounced – 58 percent of current hospitalisation statistics for children are Māori.
As we see the cases rising in Te Waipounamu we have focused on the first tranche of additional resources going out to those entities which are particularly focused on tamariki.
Current DHB status of total COVID-19 cases by DHB location
Nelson-Marlborough: 81
Canterbury: 34
South Canterbury: 4
West Coast: 0
Southern: 158
Supplies ready to head out and support tamariki Māori.
We have seen, through our activities in Kaikōura, in Kawatiri, in Wakefield, in floods and fires, in earthquakes and aftershocks, that Whānau Ora is consistently representing and advocating for whānau in emergency management.
This week Gina-Lee, Ivy, Kahutane and I were part of a consultation exercise in creating a new emergency management system. The proposed new legislation was signalled by the Minister, Hon Kiritapu Allan, at the end of last year:
Further information about these reforms can be found here.
The members of the Ministerial Advisory Committee overseeing these reforms have done a great job:
We are also delighted that our own Gina-Lee Duncan and Kahutane Whaanga have been part of the advisory group that has been providing constructive feedback to the legislative reform as it has developed. Others on this group include: Hinemoa Katene; Te Whenua Harawira; Daryn Te Uamairangi; Ramari Te Uamairangi; Awhina McGlinchey; Dr Lorraine Eade; Shaan Kingi and Tina Ngata.
It is a fundamental development to have iwi and Māori participation within joint committees; in regional emergency management (JC); in Coordinating Executive Groups (CEG) and that iwi and Māori responses will be directly reimbursed for emergency management.
We look forward to seeing the Bill go through the various stages in the House.
This week we celebrated the birthday of Mihi-Rose Tipene, one of our Contracts Advisors. Mihi-Rose is an integral part of the whānau at Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu, known for her vivacious and enthusiastic demeanour and her passion for Whānau Ora.
