Mauri ora. I am currently the Manukura Hauora aka CEO for Te Korowai Hauora o Hauraki. We are an Iwi mandated, kaupapa Māori NGO based in Hauraki and our aim is to inspire, grow and empower our people toward oranga as they define it. “Hauraki nation, a healthy nation”. I am an RN by training and to this day still work when required in our clinics and my passion and career thus far have been focussed on Māori health across the spectrum. I grew up in a small village and learnt from an early age that it takes a village to raise a child and I have ensured my tamariki had the same upbringing and now my mokopuna. Understanding our environments and our responsibility and kaitiakitanga of Te Taiao is also hugely important to me as our Whenua is very rich in resources of all types and very rural.
I aspire to use indigenous models in my life whether for health, education, marriage, raising of children or living in general as I deeply believe that until we decolonise ourselves we will never see the true benefits of these concepts that sit just beyond our line of sight. My nanny had a saying that has stuck with me all of my life and that is “Aroha ki tetahi, ki tetahi” and this is one of my guiding pou and one that I hope to not only embody but hand to the next generation. Mauri ora e te whare.