Research Journal

Author: Stacey Morrison

Te Reo Matahīapo is a new Māori language revitalisation programme, funded by the Māori language revitalisation agency Te Mātāwai, which has a vision to restore te reo Māori as a nurturing first language. Based in Auckland, it brings together three Urban Māori organisations: Manukau Urban Māori Authority (MUMA), Manurewa Marae and Te Whānau o Waipareira Trust. Te Reo Matahīapo will be strengthened by a collaborative approach across the three organisations, however the rollout of kaupapa will be distinct to each community. Providing opportunities to address common barriers such as whakamā, or embarrassment and language trauma from past experiences, activities can be approached with fun and whanaungatanga. The development of new, whānau-based indicators will provide meaningful information and data, ensuring that whānau and community narratives are captured. In coming together as three Māori organisations, co-designing with our communities, and being led by whānau, Te Reo Matahīapo is an example of how sharing experiences and resources can strengthen approach, and boost results and healing of language trauma.

Key words: te reo Māori, language, Collective Impact, trauma, kotahitanga

Author: Rita Wakefield

Co-design is a process of collaboration between groups of people for the purpose of gaining new insights into problems and creating solutions (NSW Council of Social Services, 2017). Māori have often been the subject of unilateral research carried out by Pākehā practitioners, the results of which ranges from minimal material impact on community wellbeing, to being actively detrimental (Cram, 2012; Dreise & Mazurski, 2018). Co-design offers the opportunity to synergise Western and Māori knowledge in approaching community engagement, being well aligned with kaupapa Māori research and with core Māori values, and enabling whānau to take an active role in research and community advancement.

Key words: co-design, kaupapa Māori, methodologies, social innovation

Author: Angelique Reweti

This paper is a case study analysis exploring the social, cultural, and health benefits of whānau involved in a whānau-based triathlon hosted by Sport Manawatū in the lower North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand. Using an inductive approach, experiences of whānau were used to develop a framework – Tū Kahikatea, which highlights the concept of whanaungatanga as a catalyst for wellbeing. The framework shows the effectiveness of whānau inspired programmes that are based on Māori cultural principles, in this case manaakitanga, kotahitanga, and whakapapa, and the successes that can be derived from programmes that are aligned to whānau values. Tū Kahitakea adds to the evidence base on whānau-centred approaches and provides a framework, which from a whānau perspective, demonstrates the key areas upon which success can be achieved.

Key words: whānau, whanaungatanga, manaakitanga, kotahitanga, whakapapa, intergenerational

This story was adapted from an interview with a whānau who is currently engaged in Kaiārahi services at Waipareira. In this interview, she talks about her experiences with Waipareira services, and of being a caregiver and guardian to her whānau member’s tamariki.

Author: Salome Lawe Ravonokula

The Cardiac Rehabilitation Programme prototype (2018) was developed with the initiative of the Māori Health Gains team, supported by Waitematā District Health Board Cardiology Department and Te Whānau o Waipareira (TWOW); specifically for Māori, Pacific and Quintile 51 patients within the TWOW catchment area in West Auckland. The programme aims to support whānau following acute coronary syndrome event (heart attack/unstable angina) with the emphasis of incorporating kaupapa and tikanga Māori frameworks and Whānau Ora best practice within a 12-week programme to promote better whānau health outcomes. This case study depicts kotahitanga due to the combined effort of the wrap-around services that have contributed to the patient ‘hitting the road’ to recovery with short-term goals achieved and working progressively towards long-term goals.

Key words: cardiovascular disease (CVD), coronary, rehabilitation, whānau, Whānau Ora

Author: Elica Safari Mehr

Māori have been at the forefront of the delivery of a whānau-centred approach to health and wellbeing services. In this paper, leadership in this area is explained and examined from a relational viewpoint. Māori values and practices are further examined in order to unpack key aspects of this type of relational leadership. The resulting research contributes to an explanation of how values such as kotahitanga and whanaungatanga contribute to collective participation by Māori in the realignment of the health system toward achieving Māori goals and aspirations, ultimately, as a means of improving Māori health outcomes.

Key words: Kaupapa Māori, kotahitanga, relational leadership, Whānau Ora

Author: Chelsie Parayko

In this modern world, Indigenous peoples find space for our original ways of knowing and being, and their own understanding of what their role is within it all. Weaving together our original ways of knowing, the western world and our individual journey we create a path that allows us to find connection and unity among our nations

Key words: Bridge-walker, connection, relationality, two-eyed seeing

Author: Wendy Hayward-Morey, Anita Hakaraia

The Whānau Ora Navigation Cancer Care Pilot was a Whānau Ora co-designed Cancer Navigation Programme developed in partnership with Te Whānau o Waipareira and the Waitematā District Health Board. The pilot involved a three-year research and development phase as part of cancer control strategy implementation project. The success of the pilot led to the Waipareira/WDHB Community Cancer Navigation service, a Whānau Ora and whānau-centred model by Māori for Māori which was evaluated in 2017. In 2019, Whānau Ora Navigation Cancer Care identified an innovative idea to make a difference to whānau engaged by the service, and were able to secure Pitch Local community funding, for ‘Vidjourn’. The Vidjourn concept being, that a video of whānau who have been through the cancer journey, can be shared with newly diagnosed whānau to provide support and help them through their journey ahead.

Key words: cancer, whānau, Whānau Ora, co-design, navigation, innovation

Adapted from an Interview with Witeri Williams

This article is pulled from an interview with Witeri Williams, the data analytics and performance manager within Te Whānau o Waipareira’s ‘Wai Intel’ team. In his interview Witeri discusses Collective Impact (CI) and explores its role within indigenous Aotearoa. He talks about the process of tangihanga and its synergies with the principles of Collective Impact but, more importantly, showcases how a Māori model of Collective Impact should have a distinct flavour.
Witeri also talks about Te Pae Herenga o Tāmaki, detailing how and why it emerged as a regional hub, and its journey and conception as a Collective Impact across partners in Tāmaki.

Key words: Collective Impact, place-based, indigenous, whānau, Whānau Ora

Author: Vivian Cope

The Incredible Years (IY) parent programme is evaluated considering the value of manaakitanga. The programme aims to support positive parenting through developing communication with a specially developed Māori framework which can be applied when working with whānau. The case study is a frontline observation of the programme and manaakitanga in action, concluding that it is the values that make the programme.

Key words: parenting, manaakitanga, whānau

Author: Clara K. Pau

This article aims to demonstrate the importance of manaakitanga to the Outcomes Measurement process. The article offers key reasons that manaakitanga is important to the process, which are that Māori communities are best placed to predict their own outcomes; evaluators or researchers need to contribute to generating honest answers about community outcomes; and manaakitanga is required for external validity of programmes or projects. At the same time, this article reiterates – and provides some commentary – on the significance of Te Ao Māori in non-Māori methodology. The article argues that Te Ao Māori, especially manaakitanga, both enhances and gives greater applicability to programmes or projects which are designed for Māori communities.

Key words: outcomes measurement, manaakitanga, methodology, Te Ao Māori, research

Whānau Voice adapted from an interview

I get support from a Māori service [Waipareira], from my kaimahi [support worker]. When I first met her I was like, “who is this chick coming over to my house to pick me up?” But then she just used to take us out and talk to us, because my mum’s got bipolar, mental illness, and she was just always there to help us and like got us through anything, like if we were struggling or if we felt down about anything, she’d be there. But she used to take us to anywhere, even just for a drive or take us to go get something to eat. She’d take us and just talk to us, which was really cool because we don’t really have that in our family.

Author: Sarah Wood

The literature review considers research on ageing Māori in Aotearoa and in particular ageing urban Māori. Despite a shorter life expectancy than non-Māori, Māori are living longer, prompting the need to consider research and research gaps in the area of older Māori and their experiences. Specific research reviewed looks at the role of culture, language and kaumātua wellness; studies which consider kaupapa Māori, “ageing in place” and the importance of whānau. The review concludes that there has been little research specifically on the experiences, health and needs of urban Māori, or of available services and whether they meet highlighted needs.

Key words: ageing, kaumātua, urban, indigenous, older Māori, kaupapa Māori, whānau, intergenerational

Author: Nā Maria-Pare Tewhiu

Tuhinga Whakarāpopoto
“Ko te Ahurei o te tamaiti, aroha o tātou mahi.”

E kōrero ana tēnei atikara mō te manaakitanga. Heoi, kei te aro whāiti tēnei atikara ki te manaakitanga i roto i ngā Kohanga reo me ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori. Ko te whakatauira matua o te manaakitanga ki roto i tēnei atikara, ko tōku Pāpā a Reverend Wimutu Tewhiu. Mā ēnei kōrero e whakawhānui i te tirohanga mō te manaakitanga, kia kitea ai tāku e whakapae nei. Waaihoki, ko te pito o te manaakitanga ko ngā āhuatanga Māori. Ka whakatewhatewha tēnei atikara i ngā hīkoitanga o tōku Pāpā, kia pūrangiaho mai ko ngā mātāpono o te ao Māori ki roto i te Kura Kaupapa Māori, hei tūāpapa mō ngā tamariki. Kātahi ka tū māia taua tamaiti ki roto i ngā manaakitanga o te ao Māori hei raukura mō te iwi. Ko te whāinga matua, kia ine kia whāwhaki hoki i te rangatira o ngā whakaakoranga o te kohanga me ngā Kura Kaupapa. Engari, ko ēnei akoranga te tino tohu o te manaakitanga. Ka noho ēnei kōrero hei whakataunga mō te mana nui o te manaakitanga ki te hāpai i te whānau, te hāpori, ngā hapū, me ngā iwi anō hoki.

Key words: manaakitanga, manaaki, te reo Māori, tikanga, whakatū, whanau, hapū, iwi, āhuatanga Māori, tuakiri Māori, Kohanga reo, Kura Kaupapa Māori, hāpori, taupēhitanga, taupēhi, kaikiri.

Author: Dale-Lynne Sherman Godinet

This article utilises an appreciative inquiry of cultural responsiveness focusing on manaakitanga through the environment of Whānau Ora qualification engagement. The article provides a backdrop of the qualification offered by Wai-Tech – the private training establishment portal of Te Whānau o Waipareira, and highlights the diverse spread of engaged Whānau Ora kaimahi from throughout Te Ika-a-Māui. The article uses the concept of “manaakitanga” to offer an experiential insight into the magnitude and value of Te Ao Māori foundations that underpin all interactions with Whānau Ora kaimahi. The article considers the learnings from working with Whānau Ora kaimahi in terms of the value of manaakitanga in its application.

Kore rawa rātou e wareware ki ēnei manaakitanga ā mate noa rātou.

They will never ever forget this hospitality until they die.

Key words: Whānau Ora, kaimahi, mana ki te tangata, qualifications

Author: Haze White

This article discusses the concept of whanaungatanga as central to the research approach and principles the Wai-Research unit—a West Auckland urban Maori community-based research unit, based within Te Whānau o Waipareira. The parallels to Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR) are examined with a core interest in community at the heart of both research approaches, as well as the notion of whanaungatanga being embedded in the relationship between researcher and the community. The specific role Wai-Research has in serving an indigenous urban community is considered in the approach it has developed, specifically a Kaupapa Māori research lens which further gives a legitimate role to whanaungatanga in practice, as a way to overcoming oppressive traditional research practices and in giving voice to and benefiting the community. Whanaungatanga is seen as being naturally located within kaupapa research methods and central to Wai-Research’s development of principles and community research methods to serve its own West Auckland whānau.

Key words: Kaupapa Māori, indigenous, Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR), urban, indigenous.

Author: Jacqui Harema

This article considers the natural and fluid process of whanaungatanga in practice within Te Whānau o Waipareira’s strategy and innovation unit, Wai-Atami. Whanaungatanga is viewed as an entrenched way of connecting within Waipareira, leading to the development of the “Ngā Hua o Mataroa—Measuring What Matters/Outcomes Management Pilot”, which was developed to understand the impact and outcome of Waipareira programmes for whānau by using whanaungatanga to engage participants and realise strategic goals. Truly engaging in whanaungatanga required an all-inclusive approach from the Trust Board, kaimahi (employees) and whānau. Whānau involvement was facilitated through kanohi ki te kanohi (face-to-face) interaction and hui, leading to 80 whanau participating in documenting their journey on a Waipareira parenting programme and taking ownership of the process. The success of this project includes pioneering outcomes measurement process. The success of this project includes pioneering outcomes measurement with whānau and kaimahi, informing the identification and development of outcomes and tools, and increased understanding and ownership. The key factor to success is authentic whanaungatanga as a standard mode of practice.

Key words: strategy, innovation, whanaungatanga, whānau

Author: Heta Hakaraia

This article considers the scope of whanaungatanga within the mental health practice of a Community Support Worker (CSW) working to further a Te Ao Māori framework in social and health services. The article examines how whanaungatanga works in practice and how can it be described to validate the approach to clients and their whānau. A case study of a 30-year-old Māori male diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Schizophrenia is outlined. The history, services, problems and the changes introduced for the client are reviewed according to the degree of whanaungatanga and how this approach has potentially benefitted outcomes for the whānau member. The changes observed through the documenting of this process substantiate whanaungatanga as a quantifiable outcome. It is concluded that the implementation of whanaungatanga and gathering of evidence is only limited by time, but as the author concludes “is a beginning to an end unseen.”

Key words: mental health, whānau, whanaungatanga

Author: Hector Kawai

Te Pou Matakana Collective Impact (TPM CI) is a new and innovative approach to promoting whānau ora (family well-being). It utilises indigenous knowledge and cultural frames to facilitate collaboration across multiple sectors and to ensure that services and support are comprehensive, integrated, and designed to promote the best possible outcomes for whānau. A unique commissioning model has been developed to facilitate this process which places kaupapa Māori at the heart of its activities. This paper draws on the findings from a formative and process evaluation of this approach. It centres on the examination of Te Pou Matakana (TPM) Collective Impact (CI) initiative and examines the key features of its design, development and implementation which have contributed to whānau ora. The paper also argues that Māori cultural values, principles and practices—and long, proud history of social and political advocacy and activism—both support and enhance the collective impact model. To conclude, implications for the future direction of the TPM Collective Impact initiative are discussed.

Key words: whānau ora, collective impact, kaupapa Māori

Author: Denise Smith

Denise Smith shares her experiences engaging with “#Tātou”, a West Auckland programme that is part of the “Whanau House Collective Impact” initiative, and which promotes a whānau-centered approach to promote physical activity and good nutrition. Each participant is assisted by a kaiarahi (health navigator) who supports them to reach their goals. Denise shares the barriers to her participation, her personal journey with whānau, her resilience in the face of ongoing challenges, and the connections made with others and within herself as a result of whanaungatanga experienced as part of Tātou.

Key words: whānau, kaiarahi, whanaungatanga

Author: Jo Nicholson and Kristin Fanselow

This article discusses the emergence of Social Value Aotearoa in the context of international best practice and the desire to demonstrate the impact of programmes and to create more meaningful outcomes for whānau. The need to account for social value, how it is defined, and developing a common language is discussed as necessary to both understanding the world and to making decisions on where best to invest resources and to rebalance growth within communities.

Growing relationships internationally is seen as essential in the development of Social Value Aotearoa’s confidence and voice as an organisation and in developing its own practice. The key principle for Social Value Aotearoa from the outset has been to involve stakeholders and to design services and products to meet their preferences. The diversity of members locally is acknowledged as a strength in sharing knowledge, building capacity and growing as a movement. The relationships through “connections and engagement—or whanaungatanga— that have been forged to date, both nationally and internationally, are considered key to growing the movement towards social value and towards a world with more equality and a more sustainable environment.

Key words: whānau, social value, Social Return on Investment (SROI)

Author: Meihana Durie

This article examines the key determinants of flourishing (as opposed to languishing) within the context of Māori families. While indicators such as access to housing, education and income are measurable, it is argued that connections to whānau and cultural identity are essential elements in flourishing. The implementation of Whānau Ora has led to a longer-term approach to support services.
In this environment, the test programme Ngā Tini Whetū has been developed to align strategies with whānau aspirations to move self-sufficient whānau into a position of flourishing. The test targeted a small number of whānau within West Auckland, and focused on whānau as carriers of culture, models of lifestyle and as access points to the community, as gateways to Te Ao Māori, as guardians of the landscape and as economic units.

Outcomes are considered in terms of whanaungatanga, kotahitanga, rangatiratanga and pukengatanga. Participants report on their journey and a new commitment to a flourishing future.

Key words: languishing, flourishing, whānau, Te Ao Māori, Whānau Ora