The Kaupapa Māori workstream is one of four in the Mental Health and Addiction Change Programme. It gives precedence to the health inequities that exist in Te Awakairangi for Māori whānau presenting with mental health difficulties. Consulting with the local community is pivotal in developing our response to the needs of Māori.
The kaimahi involved with the Kaupapa Māori workstream are holding a series of wānanga in locations across Hutt Valley, to bring together local communities to connect and share future aspirations for Māori mental health in Te Awakairangi.
Held around the Māori New Year Matariki, the wānanga will take inspiration from the festival, with conversations framed around the nine whetu (stars) of the Matariki cluster. This process will be guided by facilitator Awhitia Mihaere (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Tāmaki nui-a-Rua me Wairarapa. Maniapoto me Rangitāne). Awhitia is a tohunga ruahine (expert practitioner), a healer, and a teacher of rongoā Māori.
Wānanga will be held in easily-accessible community venues in Upper and Lower Hutt, as well as Wainuiomata. A range of community stakeholders will come together, including kaupapa Māori healthcare providers spanning not only mental health and addiction, but also general healthcare. A whānau ora approach also means government agencies, such as Ara Poutama Aotearoa, Oranga Tamariki, and Kāinga Ora have also been invited to participate.
The wānanga will begin with a whakawatea – a freeing process which acknowledges the hurts of the past in order to move forward.
The wānanga aim to foster whanaungatanga – relationships based on shared experiences and working together. Project Manager for the Kaupapa Māori workstream, Dee Sculley also plans to gather stakeholder thoughts and ideas for future mental health and addiction services, unique to each of the three locations. This will be used to move onto the next stage, the formation of a proposal for how services could look.
“I’m looking forward to coming together as a community to prioritise the future for Māori and to be a part of a change for services in Hutt Valley,” says Dee. “People are keen to be involved, we’ve all got the same aspirations for our people.”
Awhitia has shared the following waiata for the occasion:
Matariki, Matariki
E Ara E
Te matahi o te tau
Te kohinga whetu
I te uma o Ranginui
E piataata mai ana
Whakaataata I te rangi
E tohu ana
I te tau hou Māori e
Ko Tupuanuku
Ko Tupuarangi
Ko Waiti, Waita
Waipuna a Rangi
Ururangi e
Ko Tupuanuku
Ko Tupuarangi
Ko Waiti, Waita
Waipuna a Rangi
Ururangi e
Ko Pōhutukawa e
Ko Hiwaiterangi e
Matariki e ara e
Te matahi o te tau
Te kohinga whetu
I te uma o Ranginui
E piataata mai ana
Whakaataata I te rangi
E tohu ana
I te tau hou Māori e
Matariki, Matariki e ara e
