WELL DONE

Overall, we have every reason to be pleased and impressed with how the vast majority of peoples in Te Hiku o Te Ika Muriwhenua responded to the pandemic and how, through sacrifice, service, collaboration and cooperation, we have managed to keep it largely at bay.

There are always the exceptions but, in the main, those exceptions have just highlighted our achievements.

To illustrate, between March 25^th and today, we have recorded 37 deaths spanning all hakapapa strands, ages, genders and callings; people who were either from within or strongly connected to us.   

In all but one of those tangihanga, the tikanga and proceedings were conducted safely and with dignity.  The single instance where things became unsafe occurred during an ‘after party’ and involved non whānau members being wasted idiots.  That single instance of idiocy, which was all too commonplace before the alert levels were established, highlighted how capable we are of conducting ourselves in even the most trying of times.

No reira e ngā tini mate o tēnei wa, kua okioki koutou i ngī ahuatanga o tēnei Ao, kua tae atu koutou ki to koutou tūpuna, ōtira ki a rātou katoa i te Ao Wairua, haere atu ki a rātou ma, haere atu ki te Torona o Ihoa.

Another illustration.  Ngāti Kuri announced last week that access into their lands at Te Rerenga Wairua remained closed until they had completed cleansing processes (both spiritual and physical) as well as deferred maintenance of the facilities there. 

This same iwi, alongside of Te Aupōuri, had from March 25^th until May 14^th manned and maintained 24/7 COVID-19 checkpoints at Ngātaki on State Highway 1 and had controlled entry via that road into their rohe, successfully ensuring that COVID-19 did not enter.

 

In all but a handful of cases during that time, the responses to their kaitiakitanga were positive and supportive.  Notably, the handful of instances in which they were challenged all involved non-iwi members being self-entitled idiots claiming a right without any concomitant sense of responsibility or ability to delay the gratification of their claimed entitlement.  Happily, in only one of those instances did a kaitiaki respond with exasperation to them. 

Well done Ngāti Kuri.  We look forward to joining you next Friday 29^th May when you reopen access into that auspicious place.  

And well done to all the rest of our hakapapa strands, ages, genders, callings and people who proved that we understand and can work alongside each other in even the most inauspicious of times.

IWI PANDEMIC RESPONSE UPDATE

All the iwi authorities in Te Taitokerau are working hard to make sure our whānau and hapū are OK during this COVID-19 era.  I can only report from Ngāti Kahu, but I do so humbly, knowing we are indebted to our neighbouring iwi for standing up at very short notice, via Te Kahu o Taonui (the Taitokerau Iwi Chairs Forum), a credible and effective delivery model to the points of need amongst all our peoples.

On 30th March, Ngāti Kahu launched our freephone needs assessment number on 0800 8394273 for all iwi members living in Aotearoa who were seeking kai support during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Initially, our model of delivery was completely responsive; i.e. we only delivered to those who called us directly with a request for help. However, in spite of extensive public notification of the services, the demand was initially way below our supply, so we moved to a fully proactive delivery model to everyone on our lists.

As anticipated, the demand climbed hugely over the weeks and we now have over 200 whānau on our iwi lists alone. Therefore, following discussions with our Marae Delegates, we moved to a mixed proactive / responsive delivery model in which everyone who calls the 0800 number gets an initial kai pack.

After that, whanau with Kaumatua kuia get a fortnightly pack one week, while whanau with pre-existing conditions and wahine hapū get a fortnightly pack the other week. These are the high risk groups who need to remain at home during Alert Levels 4 and 3.

Everyone else requiring further assistance must EITHER call the 0800 number themselves to update their needs assessment OR, if they can’t do that themselves for any reason, have a third party do it for them.  Any weekly surplus of consumables, like fresh fruit and veges, is distributed to whānau with high risk members as above.

We will review this model on 12th May when the Prime Minister announces whether or not the country will move to Alert Level 2, and what date that will happen.

To ensure the most effective use of our resources, whānau will only be added to our delivery list when they have completed the needs assessment process via the 0800 number.

Whanau with any health needs should contact either their own medical service or call Te Hiku Hauora on 0800 8084024.  We are deeply grateful to Hauora for instigating outreach clinics that increase the opportunities for our isolated and vulnerable whānau to receive health services while reducing the amount of time they need to be outside their bubbles getting those services.

Via our own and our partners’ systems, we are delivering kai packs, hygiene packs, water, energy, medicines, personal shopping, health checks, vaccines, COVID-19 testing, advice and advocacy, tangi support, accommodation support.

In the next few weeks we will add firewood to the supplies we deliver.

To maintain health and safety rules and reduce the risks of any contamination in the delivery process, our volunteers deliver to point of need; i.e. kai packs and other supplies go directly to people who need them in their homes.

We understand that larger iwi, like Ngapuhi, are delivering to more than 1,000 whānau a week.  In fact, as at last week, Te Kahu o Taonui members had collectively made almost 10,000 deliveries throughout the region.

Initially, Te Rūnanga-ā-Iwi o Ngāti Kahu held daily zoom hui for all our Marae and our partners.  Now, we have moved to twice weekly z-hui which will be held at 2pm every Thursday and Sunday moving forward.

We are also conducting surveys and gathering data from across our iwi to sharpen our focus and approach to recovery. This will become an increasingly important agenda item for us moving forward.  It has been wonderful to see the unity across, within and between whānau, hapū and iwi during this national emergency; that kotahitanga will be critical in moving forward.

We are all only human but we are all doing our best. Thank you for all you are doing out there. Mā te Atua e manaaki e tiaki ki a tātou katoa i ngā wā katoa.