Ā mātou kōrero

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…

WAVE FIVE FUNDING ROUND OPENS FORTE PŪTAHITANGA O TE WAIPOUNAMU Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu is pleased to announce that its major investment round for 2016-2017 is now open and calling for applications.   “We are at a great point…

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…

This week our entire team has been immersed in the magic of Murihiku; travelling the highways from Tahuna (Queenstown) Ōtepoti (Dunedin) to Hokonui, Awarua, Waihōpai and feeling blessed by the rich beauty of the landscape and the warm embrace of…

Passing through Arthurs Pass on Tuesday night, the landscape was absolutely gorgeous. My seven year old son has learnt a new phrase this week – “that’s the spirit’.   (It sounds cuter when he says it (‘spiwit’).   The spirit of success…

This week a whakataukī was shared with me from the Ngāi Tahu publication about the Nine Tall Trees.   In 1986, the late Rakiihia Tau, on behalf of the Ngai Tahu Maori Trust Board, filed the Ngāi Tahu claim with the…

Te Punanga Haumaru Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu, the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency for the South Island, is building on the momentum of the whānau voice, in opening a specific commissioning fund called Te Pūnanga Haumaru. Te Punanga Haumaru literally…

NAN’S GARDEN At the Iwi Chairs Forum at Hopuhopu this week, a young man recounted the story of his Nan teaching him and his cousins to work in the gardens. He said that his Nanny had never talked about weeds….