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Earlier this year, we said farewell to a member of our team and a long serving staff member of Te Runanganui o Ngati Porou. Josie Tangaere, who was the Whanau Oranga Manager for the East Coast, passed away in July.
Josie was an extremely hard worker who, as a proud NATI was dedicated to helping Ngati Porou whanau to thrive, in her own quiet but assertive way.
She led a dynamic team of 15 and provided an effective oversight of Social Workers in Schools, Whanau Ora, Housing, Injury Prevention, Community Nutrition & Physical Activity, and Family Harm intervention programmes. She also managed the Tairawhiti School Attendance service which extends from Wairoa in the south to Opotiki in the north.
Always keen to learn more, Josie was also studying towards a Business Management degree.
Josie served more than 20 years with TRONP and TRONPnui. She touched a lot of people over this time and helped make a difference to so many lives.
No reira Josie moe mai ra i roto i nga ringa o to tatou Kaihanga.
It has definitely been a dramatic 2018, with some amazing highs and distressing lows, yet overall we had another challenging but rewarding year.
Over the past 12 months, around 1600 individuals accessed one-to-one support and a further 900 participated in our group-facilitated programmes:
Tiaki Tangata– Prisoner Reintegration is committed to supporting our men and women to succeed on the outside by working alongside them while they are still on the inside.
The statistics for Ngati Porou who are in prison make for grim reading and so are the statistics for Ngati Porou children who are being raised by a parent or caregiver who are involved with Corrections.
Employment, accommodation and both cultural and pro-social connections are the main areas of need, so every effort is being made to address this:
However, our biggest drive is in the prevention space, as we want to stop our children, our women and our men from entering the Justice pipeline.
Paikea was established in 2016 as a multi-purpose Health and Fitness facility and caters to the needs of the local community along with our elite and aspiring athletes.
Initially, only one programme was offered due to financial constraints, but this year, despite these restrictions, a further 400 individuals took advantage of one or more of our free programmes.
Poupou Pakari Tinana is a 16-week training programme facilitated by TRONPnui in partnership with Te Wananga o Raukawa (Otaki) which offers a NZQA Level 4 Certificate in Health.
Whanau complete the course with an understanding of activity appropriate for their level of ability, an understanding of correct exercise techniques, and a plan to improve their general level of health and well-being.
The programme also covers studies on cardiovascular exercise, resistance training, introduction to nutrition and lifestyle modification strategies.
Forty-one whanau members were successful in completing the intake for the second semester from July to December 2017. These members had access to all our classes and were able to come in during our operating hours for individual work-outs or personal training sessions with trained instructor, Amoe Tarsau.
Although Poupou Pakari Tinana is our primary programme, we have listened to members of the community and have opened the doors to a number of individuals and groups who have benefited from one or more of the tailored programmes:
“My youth worker supported me to move away from my negative pathway and now I am fully employed on the fishing trawlers. She encouraged me to break the cycle and be a role-model to my younger cousins.”
“Having a Maori to deal with does makes a difference. Having whakapapa connections to a support person makes a difference. They understand us better. Non-Maori don’t really understand me.”
“In the beginning I was against this process because I felt it was an easy way out for the offender. I have 100 percent changed my mind. The panel process is an excellent alternative for both parties. Being able to have a say in the plan and a voice helped me to move forward and forgive.”
As a result of attending a 2017 Marae-based programme facilitated by TRONPnui - Participant “A” said, how he would like to become a positive role model to his whanau and further distance himself from his past, when he was an active gang member.” Participant Post Hui Report February 2018
Anne Huriwai
Manager - Whanau Oranga
Te Runanganui o Ngati Porou
