He tini whetū ki te rangi, he moemoeā, he tūmanako ki te tangata
‘For every star that appears in the universe there are also dreams and ambitions that those on the land aspire to achieve’.
This poster will present how Te Whānau O Waipareira Trust–an urban Māori health and social service provider in West Auckland, New Zealand–is working with Māori families to create long term, aspirational health and wellbeing through the delivery of Ngā Tini Whetū, a family centred platform that promotes flourishing family futures.
Te Whānau o Waipareira Trust has a rich history of responding to the challenges of health, education and social inequities within the traditionally low-socio-economic area of West Auckland, and through the growing urban Indigenous movement of pan-tribalism has been able to build a successful model of providing essential services to the community, and thereby growing a legacy of strong Indigenous people.
Ngā Tini Whetū is an emerging Te Whānau o Waipareira initiative that seeks to address long-term outcomes for whānau who no longer require short to medium support. At its core Ngā Tini Whetū embraces seminal cultural concepts that empower families to become central agents of change within their own aspirational journey to wellbeing. Through a combination of research and hands-on delivery that includes facilitation, advice and guidance around family strategic planning and ongoing mentoring, Ngā Tini Whetū is designed to support individualised long-term aspirational goals.
By encompassing and including all members of the family–from tamariki (children) to kuia/kaumatua (grandparents)–the overarching objective of Ngā Tini Whetū is twofold. Firstly, to promote self-sufficient and flourishing families who are readily equipped to take on the challenges that the future holds; and secondly to maximise every opportunity that arises when discernible benefits are apparent for the family. As such, Ngā Tini Whetū seeks to acknowledge the multitude and diversity of aspirational goals that family members have, and the many different voices that make up the West Auckland urban Indigenous experience.