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Among the many investment streams of the Whānau Ora network in Te Waipounamu, an important one for us is Aroā.
Aroā is our dedicated hauora and awareness fund, focused on connecting whānau to the information and services they need to stay healthy.
Delivered in partnership with Pharmac, Aroā seeks to improve the health and wellbeing of whānau by investing in their inherent worth and creating safe spaces that foster greater awareness and uptake of services. We want to help whānau in Te Waipounamu overcome barriers to improved hauora across availability, accessibility, affordability and appropriateness of healthcare.
Cervical cancer screening is a key current focus. Why? Because we know that it is something that makes a lot of us feel anxious and uncomfortable but is also such an important tool in protecting whānau from this disease.
It has been a privilege to partner with Māori health providers and Whānau Ora partners across the motu to offer Aroā kaupapa Māori screening events over the past year.
Our next one, scheduled for Saturday, November 11 in Ōtautahi, goes further, and includes an informational session about the recently rolled out HPV self-testing option and kōrero on bowel and breast screening as well. For all whānau who may be interested, use this link to register for the 11.30am-1pm session.
For the cervical screening, we warmly invite all tāngata Māori aged 25 years and over, who may be due or overdue for their cervical smear, to register now. Use this online form to express your interest and we will be in touch.
Me te mihi aroha ki a koutou katoa, ā, ki te Whānau o Te Roopu Tautoko Ki Te Tonga hoki. We would like to extend a special shoutout to Whānau o Te Roopu Tautoko Ki Te Tonga Inc in Ōtepoti for graciously hosting our inaugural Tātai Whetū Navigator platform event this week – and to all who attended. It was an unforgettable day which brought together 18 Whānau Ora Navigators and partners in the south to enhance collective support and create a space for insights and knowledge sharing. It was also a powerful reminder of what can be accomplished when we come together.
Jillian and Jolz, lifelong friends since they were just 6-years old, have shared life’s joys and challenges. They’ve raised whānau, seen mokopuna enter the world, and together have established Four One Seven ORA, a business dedicated to improving the wellbeing of whānau through rongoā Māori. Recently, they hosted their very first community wānanga – a kawakawa workshop designed to teach whānau how to make their own kawakawa balm, an essential item for the first aid kit. Watch their story or read more here.
Te Kura o Tuahiwi are now part of the Kōanga Kai whānau, and it has been awesome to see their ideas emerge as they plan and design a māra kai to be developed as part of their new kura redevelopment. The tamariki have restored, planted and painted existing planter boxes. Here is what two of them had to say about the kaupapa so far: “I whakarite te akomanga o Korimako i ngā tipu mō te māra kai. Ahakoa he tino hōhā te ngāki i ngā taru, kōinei te mahi tika mō te māra.” As the tamariki have said, the planting of the seeds and plants to grow in their māra kai is not complete without the time-consuming and hōhā task of clearing the weeds. However, the kura will ultimately reap the benefits of the mahi and aroha put into their māra kai.
Dr Sara Tolbert wears many hats. She is an Associate Professor of Science Education and Environmental Education in the Faculty of Education at University of Canterbury and previous Associate Professor in Teaching, Learning, and Sociocultural Studies at the University of Arizona (United States). She is a former science and ESOL teacher, environmental educator and has worked with students in multilingual contexts in the US, Aotearoa, Mexico, and Guatemala. It was therefore an honour for her to invite our Kōanga Kai Contract Advisor, Gina-Lee Duncan, to design a workshop for UoC students in the third year of their degree.
First up, we had Pania Ngātai from Urban Grow, a Kōanga Kai entity who gave a presentation on how we view sustainability in our everyday environment. Students were tasked with gathering from gutters and around the campus, in which Pania then created a compost layer that will enhance minerals to increase goodness in our soils. This created a space to think about how “waste” is perceived.
Gina-Lee then spoke about māra and how Kōanga Kai represented so much more than growing kai, like the importance of whakawhānaungatanga, the mana motuhake approach to sovereignty, and how whānau comment on feeling uplifted with sensations of pride within the māra.
Callaghan Innovation will hold an interactive wānanga on indigenous-led clean energy with Indigenous Clean Energy co-founder Chris Henderson here at Te Whenua Taurikura on Monday, October 30, from 9.30am-12.30. Topics to be covered include Indigenous participation in Canada’s Clean Energy Transition; Indigenous Clean Energy Governance; Indigenous Clean Energy Structures and Financing; and Inter-generational Development and Capability Pathways. RSVPs by Wednesday, October 25 to events@callaghaninnovation.govt.nz
Kia pai tō wā whakatā
