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Tēnā koutou katoa
Vanessa here, standing in for Ivy as she takes a well-deserved break.
Full disclosure: Those of you who know me, know that I am Murihiku born and bred and, yes, I may just have a soft spot for our southern entities and partners. Still, even without my Southland glasses on, the talent on display at last weekend’s KUMA Southern Māori Business Awards was incredible.
We travelled to Queenstown for the awards to support the Whānau Ora entities and partners who had made it into the finals, and Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu was also a key sponsor for the event. We had an incredible two days of whakawhanaungatanga, first at the sponsors event held last Friday, then at the Southern Māori Market Day the next day and, of course, at the awards ceremony and gala dinner itself on Saturday night.
The biennial Te Kupeka Umaka Māori ki Āraiteuru (KUMA) awards cover Ōtakou/Otago, Murihiku/Southland and the Queenstown Lakes District and this year focused on mātauranga Māori – the significance of Māori knowledge, wisdom, and cultural practices in business. We mihi to all involved in the awards, from the organisers, volunteers to the sponsors, and especially to all those who were brave enough to put themselves in the spotlight and enter.
We were so proud to be associated with four organisations who received awards on the night: Skillsec, Awarua Synergy, Whānau Consultancy Services and Kia Kaha Chemist.
Skillsec, from Dunedin, was the recipient of He Tohu Whakawhanaungatanga, the collaboration award, sponsored and presented by Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu. Skillsec, which is Dunedin-based, is a Navigator Partner of Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu that provides work placement and training.
Awarua Synergy, which has featured previously in the awards, were also highly commended in the He Tohu Whakawhanaungatanga, Collaboration Award category.
Awarua Synergy was created out of the Bluff Healthy Homes project, run by Awarua Research and Development, a subsidiary of the Te Rūnaka o Awarua Charitable Trust. Awarua Synergy are installers and suppliers of energy-efficient products.
Meanwhile, Whānau Consultancy Services took home He Tohu Pito Mata, the emerging business leadership award. Whānau Consultancy Services was established by Serena Lyders, a previous kaimahi of Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu and recipient of Wave funding to provide an indigenous cultural experience of professional, educational, spiritual and hauora/wellbeing service.
Kia Kaha Chemist was awarded with highly commended in He Tohu Manaakitanga, the customer excellence award category. Kia Kaha Chemist provides whānau with access to information about their health, medicine, nutrition, and supplements for good health. Director Brendon McIntosh has had a longstanding relationship with Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu through different initiatives and played an exceptional role throughout our COVID-19 response.
Another big winner on the night was Janine Kapa, of Kia Māia Bicultural Communications.
There was a standing ovation for Janine as she was named recipient of KUMA’s eponymous award, He Tohu Maumahara ki a Suzanne Spencer. This award recognises the contribution Janine has made to individual businesses, as well as the KUMA network, and in acknowledgement of the wairua and empathy, grace and integrity she brings to her mahi.
The KUMA awards are the perfect showcase of the wealth of Māori talent in the south. We remain a strong supporter, southern-born or not!
Noho ora mai
Vanessa
Pou Kōkiri, Deputy Chief Executive
This week, the Mana Kāinga Māori Housing Leadership program was officially launched in Tāmaki Makaurau and kaimahi from Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu were fortunate to be among the first group of dedicated tauira from Te Hiku ō Te Ika to Murihiku.
This groundbreaking initiative, a 15-week programme, is all about nurturing leaders who will not only shape the present but also the future of Māori housing, collectively aiming to build stronger communities, one kāinga at a time.
Māu te ara, kia ora ai te whānau!
A HUGE mihi to all those involved in bringing Rangatahi Zone 2023 together.
Hikairo, Makyla and Tony joined me at the event in Bluff last week to pilot Tūmata, a new kaupapa for rangatahi Māori in Te Waipounamu.
While Tūmata is still in the developmental stages, it was awesome to ensure it got the tick from the next generation of bosses and Rangatahi Zone was a great place to do that.
We also got to catch up with some of our awesome partners, including Jim Hauraki, Kaihautū at Awarua Whānau Services and, of course, Rangatahi Zone event organiser Sumaria Beaton, who is also the general manager of Awarua Synergy, another Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu partner.
Tā te Manawa is a healing and leadership retreat for Māori and Indigenous peoples and registrations are now open for the next wānanga, to be held in Punakaiki, from the November 14-16. The kaupapa explores our ancestral mātauranga to gently nurture hauora and support participants to reconnect with their deeper purpose in. By Māori, for Māori, the kaupapa has a proven record of helping people to find their centre and move forward from a position of strength and wellbeing. Whether for professional development, personal wellbeing or to gain perspective on your own life journey, nau mai, haere mai, whakatau mai rā. Fr more information and to register, see the Tā te Manawa website or email sweetcardamom@gmail.com. Note, fees apply.
