As te iwi Māori and tangata Tiriti, alongside people of all communities and backgrounds, gather today at Waitangi to commemorate the first signing of Aotearoa's founding document Te Tiriti o Waitangi, we have been reflecting on what te Tiriti means, both personally and for us as an organisation.
The articles of te Tiriti and the embedding of a te ao Māori lens underpin the development and delivery of all our services, as well as inform our organisational strategy and work environment at Kia Puāwai. We are committed to professional practice that honours mātauranga Māori alongside Tauiwi knowledge and is centered around our four organisational values: aroha, whanaungatanga, wairuatanga and manaakitanga.
Our Waka Hourua strategy of two equal-sized hulls - one te ao Māori and one te ao Tauiwi knowledge - allows us to strengthen wellbeing, mana, and wairua of all who come to Kia Puāwai. It's important to us that there are indigenous voices, thinking and ways of being woven through our services, such as with the Whaitake Whakaoranga Whānau framework, which all our Functional Family Therapists are now trained in. Using mātauranga Māori, the goal of Whaitake Whakaoranga Whānau is to enable our frontline kaimahi to walk safely and at pace with whānau Māori.
Bringing together these two knowledge bases into one stable platform provides our organisation a safe space to sit together and learn from each other's knowledge. We can then use them as one to enhance wellbeing and communication, and give whānau the tools to navigate life in a way that supports the oranga of their mokopuna, tamariki and rangatahi.
We are committed to a continued focus on weaving mātauranga Māori into more of our programmes to enhance our service offerings, including the Teaching-Family Model, and on further collaboration with iwi, hapū and marae - illustrating kotahitanga.
Ko tō hoe, ko taku hoe, ka tere te waka e. With your paddle and my paddle, the waka will travel quickly.
- Kia Puāwai Board Chair Tania Thomas and CE Marion Heeney