Welcome to the May 2017 Update for Urutapu Tamāhine Programme! This month has been a time of careful planning for Urutapu kaimahi, and reflection on what hauora means for the Urutapu team. Check out what we've been up to this month and what is planned for June 2017!

Kia ora koutou katoa

The month of May began with a powerful visit to Otaki where my amazing husband Tamati Patuwai, chair for Mad Ave Community Trust, and myself presented at the International Funders for Indigenous People’s regional hui. It was food for the mind, body and spirit as passionate advocates for the betterment of indigenous people came together from around the globe to discuss, share and collaborate with philanthropic funders.

As I find myself moving more and more in these circles I have come to realise that, despite being inspiring, motivational and engaging, the truth actually sits outside the room. I think it is important to note that as we are trying to change the world we must continue to include those for whom we are striving to turn the curve, in real and meaningful ways. Growing up in Tuna Town (Moerewa), and living in Glen Innes means that I have my feet firmly planted on the ground. I see, hear and know the reality for a majority of our people: a blessing for which I am profoundly grateful. I am also aware that I must stay committed to working in ways that support with not for, in terms of empowering and enabling our people. For collective impact we need to be doing more than sitting around in a room speaking with the converted! My hope is that I will stay connected to the Mad Ave vision to engage community potential by any means necessary in a way that honours those I serve and makes a difference where it matters most at the grassroots.

Veeshayne Patuwai

Urutapu Programme Director

Team Planning and Strategic Development

May has been a month of powerful momentum for the Urutapu Kaimahi. We kicked off the month with a series of team planning hui, focusing on our upcoming Hauora Noho in June, and finished the month with a beautiful Strategic Planning hui facilitated by the wonderful Katherine Clarke, who kindly lent us her time and expertise.

These hui have enabled us to both reflect on where the programme is at and where we, as kaimahi, are at in terms of our own hauora and our own contribution to the programme. It has been a busy month in which we have recalibrated our systems, refined our planning for the year ahead and worked together to build our team in order to demonstrate the powerful leadership we want to catalyse in young wāhine. We are looking forward to the coming noho and the chance to engage again with our incredible tamāhine, and to share our own beliefs around what it means to be rich in body, mind and spirit!

Connecting in with the International Funders for Indigenous Peoples

This month Veesh had the opportunity to present on Urutapu at the IFIP Pacific Regional Hui. Presenting the powerful kaupapa behind the Urutapu Tamāhine Programme and our dedication to catalysing tāmahine leadership through our social change model. This hui offered the chance to network, to weave together different communities and individuals dedicated to indigenous empowerment, and Veesh was humbled by the opportunity to make connections with powerful indigenous women from Aotearoa and all around the globe. Having met these incredible women and being enabled to work with them has already offered beautiful knowledge sharing and we look forward to future engagement with change-makers dedicated to indigenous empowerment.

18301439_1890940557827153_914042802918949671_n

Photo credit: IFIP Pacific Regional Hui

Courageous Conversations: Engaging Communities

Following the IFIP conference, Mad Ave Community Trust held a hui at Ruapotaka marae in which indigenous change-makers from South America came together with members of the Tāmaki community and engaged in courageous conversations around reinvigorating indigenous practices and environmental awareness. Kaimahi from the Urutapu team had the opportunity to attend and participate in discussions around the difficulties of engaging community, and of the importance of communicating outside of the room - sharing the message of indigenous practices and cleaning up the environment with people at a grassroots level. This hui was powerfully moving, highly emotionally charged and reaffirmed the need for an awareness around maintaining one’s own hauora in order to build up the wellbeing of the community.

The learnings taken from this hui have reimagined and informed our notions of hauora and of reaching out to the community, highly important learnings that will be taken with us to our next noho and beyond. A big, big thank you once again to Paloma Abregu Arroyo, for speaking on Food Sovereignty in Peru, Dan Baron Cohen and Manuella, for sharing their kaupapa around cleaning up river networks in the Brazilian Amazon, and Mad Ave’s very own Tamati Patuwai, for facilitating the community kōrero!

Tamāhine Success!

This month Uirakohu Mathews had the opportunity to help organise the Pink Shirt Day event on 26th of May for Kaitaia College! The focus was on promoting and accepting difference. Uira took part in her role as Health Committee Captain for the school. Uira has also been nominated for an award at Te Hiku Youth Awards, to be held on the 2nd June at Te Ahu. Awesome mahi Uira!

Mehara Tamaki has been part of the planning committee for the Whangarei Youth Awards as part of youth week, and has also been accepted onto the Future Leaders programme! This programme is part of the Inspiring Leaders kaupapa, and Mehara will be contributing to the creation of this year’s Festival of the Future. Ka mau te wehi!

Tui Hawke contributed to the organisation and running of the Manurewa Youth Council’s youth week event: sausage sizzles held in high schools across Manurewa from the 29th May to the 2nd June. Tui both participated in the planning of the event, and helped run the sausage sizzle at Alfriston College on the 31st May. Great to see young leadership in action!

Renee Paraha and Kirihi Brown are about to start their exams for their first semester at the University of Waikato! We are so proud of these tamāhine for their incredible mahi - good luck!

Well done to all of the Urutapu tamāhine!

Once again, a big thank you to our supporters - Foundation North, the Alistair Dryden Trust, and the whānau, friends and communities of our amazing tamāhine! THANK YOU!

Ngā mihi nui,

The Urutapu Team

Mad Ave Community Trust

May 2017 Update

Tagged

Related

Causing Te Ara Moana: Noho Recap

RECAP: Matariki Tupu Ā Rangi: The Gathering of Our Gifts

Project Profile: Matariki Tupu-Ā-Rangi, The Gathering of our Gifts

July 2017 Update

Renewal and Reflection Noho Recap

June 2017 Update

Hauora Noho 2017 Recap

Courageous Conversations: Engaging Communities

April 2017 Update