A tikanga Māori approach to health and wellbeing is providing community and connection for kaumātua across Whāingaroa.
Te Toi Ora ki Whāingaroa is by Māori, for Māori but pou ārahi/facilitator Whiwhi Aspinall says the various outreach clinics and other marae-based programmes are open to all.
“Anyone is welcome; we have pākehā in our kaumātua group and we’ve had younger people join. It’s a great way of connecting,” she says.
Whiwhi and her mother Verna Tuteao help facilitate the kaumātua groups at Poihākena Marae on Wainui Road and Maketu Marae in Kawhia.
They collaborate with the kaumātua on the activity schedule for the year ahead and base the programme around Kai Pai (cooking nutritious food on a budget), haerenga (trips), wānanga (workshops and learning), and health and wellbeing. The kaumātua also tend a large raised garden patch at the back of Poihākena.
“We cover the different stages of aging and try to recognise the core needs of each age group. There’s all that wisdom that sits with our elders. They come from another world and it’s quite cool to have that knowledge mingling between the different ages,” Verna says.
Regular attendees, brothers Dave and Reid Huirama, make the trip from Waingaro to hang out with the group.
“When you’re our age, you need to get out and explore your avenues,” Dave says.
“Meeting people and participating in different things stimulates your mind. Reid is 85 and I’m 83, so we need to get out and have other interests, and not sit back and twiddle our thumbs.”
Also in regular attendance is local physiotherapist Lesley Thornley who is on hand to take care of any mobility issues or to support recovery and rehabilitation
Lesley has connections to Poihakena Marae through her late father Dr Digger (John) Penman who was the local GP from the 1940s through to the late 1960s and was well regarded by iwi.
“Providing physiotherapy services under Te Toi Ora Whāingaroa is a privilege and very humbling. This is an environment which belongs to the people. As such it requires me to practice with humility to honour the tikanga and ensure the values I hold as a practitioner meet the needs of those I serve. To this end it is an absolute joy to be invited to join the Hauora team,” Lesley says.
Open to anyone, the outreach health clinics are not only a place for people attending to their healthcare needs but they also provide a space to gather and connect.
A doctor and nurse from Raglan Medical attend the clinics which take place every two weeks alternating between Te Papatapu Marae and Mai Uenuku ki te Whenua Marae.
The kaupapa for Te Toi Ora ki Whāingaroa is deeply rooted in tikanga Māori and alongside the western model of health care are rongoā Māori methods of healing such as mirimiri (massage).
A free health screening clinic onsite at Poihākena Marae provides the perfect opportunity for the kaumātua to check up on any health queries they might have. Everyone is welcome to attend the free service.
Run by nurses Maine Tito and Tracey Frew with support by Jackie Poto, the clinic services include diabetes and heart screening, all immunisations, quit smoking support and more.
Te Toi Ora ki Whāingaroa Charitable Trust began its journey in 2020 to meet the needs of whānau struggling with covid and mandatory isolation.
by Janine Jackson
