A program run by the Te Aupōuri, Ngāti Kahu, Te Rarawa Trust (ANT) in Kaitāia, sees child immunisation initiatives heading to local marae, a way to get out of the GP clinic and into the community.

The trust and its team of nurses and vaccinators stopped in at Waimanoni Marae just north of Awanui, where whānau brought along their young ones to get their vaccinations.

Okena Simon, Kaiwhakahaere Hinonga at ANT, says it’s not just about immunising their uri, but also about doing it in a familiar and comfortable environment.

“Ko te rerekētanga o te noho marae, o te noho Māori, atu i te noho o te tari, o te rata, me kī.

“Ka kite ake te wairua Māori, i roto hoki i ngā tamariki, i roto i ngā tūahuatanga mahi.

“He wairua Māori te kawe,” te kī a Okena.

The idea of getting vaccinations has been a bone of contention for some Māori, particularly the Covid-19 vaccination rollout. Vaniva Rutene-Lewis is Kaihāpai Hauora at ANT Trust, and she says getting out to the marae is great to interact with the iwi.

It was one of those things that was a no-brainer, I mean, it was somewhere different, somewhere very comfortable, it was warm, it was inviting, somewhere that our whānau are so used to being.

“And so, yeah! I thought it was a great thing to have it on a marae.”

Hei taurima i te māmā

Tuia i te tuku kano ārai mate, he kaupapa anō e kawea nei e te tarahiti hei āwhina i ngā māmā Māori.

Ko ‘Kia Taurima’ tōna ingoa, ka mutu, ko tāna he whakarite takapau horanui mō ngā māmā, e pai ai tā rātou manaaki i a rātou anō mā te kōrero me te noho ngātahi ki ētahi atu māmā

Ahakoa kua tekau mā rua marama noa iho a Kia Taurima e ora ana, e ai ki te kaiwhakahaere, ki a Maddie Brosnan, ko taua āhua tonu rā, arā, kia Māori ake te āhua o ngā mahi whakarato i te iwi.

“What we love about it the most is that we are able to offer our services out into the community in a Māori lens framework but with holistic aspects as well so that māmā can create spaces for resiliency, managing their stress and tensions,” te kī a Brosnan.

“We are in our second year of running Kia Taurima, and we are just about to wrap up our fourth group, and so it’s a mother and baby initiative that specifically supports the mothers of Muriwhenua.”