NATIONAL KAUPAPA WHĀNAU ORANGA RECOVERY HUI

HOANI WAITITI MARAE

4-8THOCTOBER 2016

Written by Kim Whaanga-Kipa

Email: torirangi@yahoo.co.nz

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1

INTRODUCTION 2-3

THE HUI PROGRAMME,

PRE-HUI GATHERING OF NGĀ POU, & DAY ONE 4

DAY TWO - THE DRUG COURT 5-6 LEADING THE WAY FORWARD - RANGATAHI 7 DAY THREE 8 DAY FOUR & DAY FIVE 9

OUTCOMES OF THE HUI & OUTCOMES FOR THE REGIONS 10

HUI SUMMARY 11

Page 1

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

E te Atua tukua mai he ngākau māhaki ki a tātou katoa

ki a tau tonu te rangimarie i roto i ngā uauatanga

me te kaha ki te whakatika i ngā marotanga

ki a mātou kia marama hokinga rereketanga.

This is a special acknowledgement to the wisdom, knowledge and tireless contribution

that our Kaumatua offer every year, to the betterment of people and their wha nau who

have been suffering from alcohol and drug addiction.

To Anaru Mapa, Pukekawa Wehi, Monica Stockdale and Lucy Bush:

We honour you and your ability to be able to stand amidst all the political, social and

cultural challenges and are still able to put wha nau first. Your unwavering ability to

connect us from the past into the future - we thank you for being able to gently guide our

waka and yet step back to let Nga Pou and the wha nau learn to step into those shoes and

paths that you have already laid for us.

To Shane White and Elaine Ngamu for being the face, the backbone, the voice of Hoani

Waititi marae and for always supporting the many initiatives of Kaupapa Wha nau Oranga -

we thank you!

To our sponsors who believed in us and our kaupapa, and enabled us to host this hui, by

providing resources - we thank you

Matua Raki and Te Rau Matatini, “Ma te huruhuru ka rere te manu.” Hoani Waititi Marae,

Waipereira Trust, Tat Upcycle recovery first, Tat Native Nursery recovery first, Higher

Ground, Salvation Army 90-day programme, Alcohol and other drug treatment court, AA/

NA fellowship, “He aha te mea nui o te ao, he tangata, he tangata, he tangata.”

Page 2

INTRODUCTION

This report provides an overview of the Kaupapa Wha nau Oranga National recovery hui

held in Auckland at Hoani Waititi Marae October 4-8th 2016.

Over the past 20 plus years National Recovery hui have traditionally been hosted by

people and their wha nau in recovery from alcohol and drug addictions. The purpose of

the hui is to celebrate achievements, to whanaungatanga and bring together other people

in recovery or those seeking a life free from alcohol and drugs, and to honour the journey

of healing.

There are four main regions that have been identified over the motu where Nga Pou (key

leaders, who are long term recovery people 20yrs +) reside. Within the regions Nga Pou

are instrumental in developing, supporting and assisting the unique growth of recovery

wha nau and activities in their region.

The term Kaupapa Wha nau Oranga originates from:

1- Kaupapa the commonality that unites and binds us which is recovery from alcohol

and drug addiction

2- Whānau – encouraging wha nau members to heal alongside the person in recovery.

If bridges have been burnt or for some reason immediate wha nau are unable to be

part of the healing journey, then a Tuakana Te ina approach is embraced and

utilized to help support the person.

3- Oranga - The Journey of Healing from alcohol and drug addiction is totally organic

to the person in recovery, whether it be through e.g. 12 step meetings, wha nau

groups, one on one therapy, rehabilitation etc. Oranga may also mean learning

about culture, whakapapa and is totally shaped by the person.

In 2008, a recovery hui was held in O tautahi in which the vision of Kaupapa Wha nau

Oranga was gifted from Paraire Huata and Anaru Mapa, and describes the journey of

Kaupapa Wha nau Oranga as:

“Wairua focused, Whanau Driven.”

Page 3

Wairua Focused and Whānau Driven:

To maintain the momentum of wha nau within the regions the National recovery hui offers

a wider perspective and an opportunity to connect and to share and explore diverse ways

of healing from alcohol and drug addictions.

Wha nau are imperative to the ongoing maintenance of the people in recovery and also

significant in the National recovery hui.

In recent years the National recovery hui has been held on a bi-annual basis, allowing time

for the host region to prepare and explore resource options in order to host the motu.

This has been based on a self-supporting approach, highlighting Rangatiratanga (self-

determination)

Page 4

The Hui Programme

PRE-HUI GATHERING OF NGĀ POU

DAY ONE

The hui began on the 4th of October 2016 with a po whiri hosted by local recovery whanau

and hau kainga of Hoani Waititi marae. The purpose of this gathering was to bring in the

Leadership roopu (Nga Kaumatua and Nga Pou) and other recovery whanau interested in

attending site visits the following morning. A whanaungatanga session was held in the

evening and a planning meeting provided Nga Pou with the opportunity to clarify and

designate roles and activities for the duration of the hui (a mahi tahi approach).

A unique feature which has never occurred before at any other national hui, was the ‘Kiri-

Mate’ process which allowed for grieving wha nau to bring a photo of their loved ones in

recovery who had passed away in the last 12 months and have their mauri included in the

hui.

This year there were seven recovery wha nau members who had passed, so while entering

the whare tupuna, a special place was made to lay the photos of the loved ones and to also

have them be remembered and celebrated throughout the hui. Learning to acknowledge

grief in the recovery journey together and to share the grief was a major new angle to

healing collectively.

No reira koutou ma kua wheturangitia moe mai rā,

e kii ana te korero rātou te hunga wairua ki te hunga wairua,

tātou te hunga ora e mihi e tangi e poroporoake nei.

Kore mātou e wareware ki a koutou katoa.

Page 5

DAY TWO

This was the day that the motu were officially welcomed (powhiri) by those who had

gathered the previous day.

Special site visits were organised for Nga Pou and recovery whanau to visit three key

developments for the Tamaki Makaurau Kaupapa Wha nau Oranga roopu.

The first visit was to the “TAT Upcycling Recovery First” initiative where an incredibly

innovative approach to the maintenance of recovery and business, walks hand in hand.

The founder, Hone Pene, has taken the Te Atatu based project to a new level of ‘common-

unity’.

Hone introduced the collaboration between City Council, the Drug Court, Nurseries and

Enviro Waste. After much negotiating, the Eco Matters Trust agreed to umbrella the

projects with the intent of the recovery wha nau themselves managing this when they

were ready.

The foundation of the project is ‘Recovery First’. All participants need to be clean (just for

today) to attend. This has created a reciprocal approach with the Drug Court who refer

participants.

Both Tat Upcycle Recovery First and Tat Native Nursery Recovery First have a strong Te

Taiao /environmental approach in collaboration with the local council’s vision of zero

waste. Participants are encouraged to pick up roles and responsibilities dependent on

their skill base. A business arm is also in development stages.

.

The Drug Court

In New Zealand, the first Drug court was set up four years ago in the Waitakere district

court and the Auckland central district court. The kaupapa encourages rehabilitation

rather than a punitive approach, supporting the individual to learn and take responsibility

for their own recovery from addiction and crime. There is a huge potential for Kaupapa

Wha nau Oranga to make a positive contribution to this cause.

Page 6

Rawiri Pene is the first Pou Oranga nominated into the Drug Court to shape and create

Maori Tikanga. This has been a ground breaking, pioneering, specialized role as it has

never been done before in the world and acknowledges the relationship between mana

whenua / tangata whenua, and the Crown.

Within the Pou Oranga role, Rawiri provides a significant contribution through kaupapa

whanau oranga as a role model of Maori recovery with 27 years of healing in himself,

alongside his whanau toto and kaupapa whanau oranga.

Rawiri’s role also includes collaborating, educating, advising, implementing and

maintaining the cultural, spiritual and recovery safety and mana of the Drug Court team,

participants and their whanau.

The third site visit included sitting in on a court session and recovery whanau who

attended were asked to give feedback on their experience and learning.

Feedback included:

“Amazing, everyone was so positive, the defense lawyer, the Judge - man

it blew us away. It’s nothing like the other court system where you are

labelled and it's all about your bad history. Here they were celebrating

and clapping for their successes and meeting their goals.”(K.G)

“This is what the country needs - something positive to alcohol and drug

related crimes. It’s so awesome and the people have to take

responsibility for their own recoveries and it’s not a short term fix. This

is for at least a 12 month period - Ka mau te wehi!”(M.S)

What I loved today about the Drug Court was the tikanga and the

presence of te āo Māori. It started with an mihimihi, karakia , waiata

and whakapapa of the tāonga on the walls and the significance to the

journey that the people were about to encounter, and then the

introduction of the people. It was similar to the pōwhiri process and you

could see the absolute relationship and significance of Rawiri’ s role and

how they respected him as well, what a great thing to experience

(K.WK)

Page 7

Leading the Way forward - Rangatahi

A whanaungatanga session was led by rangatahi for rangatahi - a chance for them to

introduce themselves to each other. Rongoatea the rangatahi residential treatment centre

in Hamilton attended. Rangatahi activities focused on Al- Ateen, rock climbing, arts and

story-telling, mahi tahi a ringawera, whakangahau. Throughout the hui, ha kinakina

(sports) was also held.

An opportunity was offered for rangatahi to address social issues that are current and are

often not spoken in hui wananga. A whakaari (play) around suicide was presented with

rangatahi leading and sharing their truths around this issue. This was a powerful

expression, where people were able to give feedback and openly talk about this kaupapa.

There were also ‘safe people’ that were offered to those who preferred a one on one at the

conclusion of this presentation. The key message was about the importance of expression

and no longer carrying the burden of whakamomori.

.

There was a lot of encouragement for the rangatahi to create and design activities,

however whanaungatanga and having time together in the marae just “being” - laughing,

talking and singing was really important.

Rangatahi were given leading roles within the hui, leading sessions and encouraging their

skill base, this is also a big part of the succession planning and leadership development for

the next generation.

Page 8

DAY THREE

This day focused on the community presenting to Kaupapa Wha nau Oranga hui

participants.

Guest speakers consisted of:

• Te Rau Matatini – the National Maori Health Workforce Development organisation,

a sponsor for the hui and a supporter over the past two years of Kaupapa Wha nau

Oranga developments. At this hui we were also privileged to have their kauma tua,

Whaea Lucy and the Te Hau Ma rire (Ma ori Addiction Leadership and Practice

Development Programme) Coordinator, Terry Huriwai support and participate in

the entire hui

• Judge Lisa Tremewan from the Waitakere Drug Court acknowledged that the pilot

was at a crucial stage of development and how important recovery whanau

featured in the overall outcomes encouraging the hui to get involved in whatever

way possible.

• Ngatoia Skipper Whaanga who talked from a Taiohi/Pakeke (young adult

perspective) on her journey and the importance of wha nau in her journey - an

emotional presentation

• Te Hata Ohlsen, who is a tohunga that specializes in Ma tauranga Ma ori and likens

the whare tupuna to the person on the healing journey. This workshop was well

received by all that attended and an introduction for some recovery wha nau into Te

A o Ma ori. He also held a rangatahi forum.

• Matua Raki (Hui sponsor) and their representative spoke about the ongoing Ma ori

workforce developments within the alcohol and drug sector.

Two Whakaari (Plays/Productions) were also presented throughout the day stimulating

korero in the audience:

1- A story around the impact of suicide on wha nau and community

2- The story of the Paua and the significance to wha nau in recovery

This day was interactive and insightful.

Page 9

DAY FOUR

This was the Ha kinakina (sports day), where everyone enjoyed the competitiveness

and sportsmanship of the day. This was filled with fun, and celebrations of all ages. In

attendance was approximately 150 people.

An afternoon workshop from tohunga - Te Hata, was held in the wharenui and was

well received with whanau wanting more of his unique concepts to healing using

Ma ori models of practice.

A Te Taiau/native tree workshop was made available for the rangatahi, to personally

plant a tree giving them a sense of connectedness to Hoani Waititi Marae.

In the evening, there was a ha kari (feast) that was held. Between 200-250 people attended

and this involved a great celebration and opportunity for people to sing, share and be

merry - alcohol, drug and violence free!

This evening also consisted of a poroaki where whanau from different regions were

able to share the benefits they received from participating in the hui and also to say

their farewells. Special acknowledgements and presentations for Kaumatua also

occurred on the night.

12 step whanau AA/NA meetings occurred throughout the hui.

DAY FIVE

The final day, we shared our last meal together, where farewells especially from the

rangatahi were heard and then clean-up of the marae. We took time to plant more

native trees at the marae, then everyone left for their own homes.

Page 10

Outcomes of the Hui

Key themes that came from this hui included the following:

• Succession planning- growing our rangatahi to grow themselves;

• Regional growth - developing the rangatiratanga and authenticity of the regions;

• Confirmation of the need for a National Kaupapa Wha nau Oranga body;

• Building relationships into the future;

• Intergenerational legacies – succession planning using our MOPs (Models of

practice); and

• Workforce development - By and for Kaupapa Wha nau Oranga.

OUTCOMES FOR THE REGIONS

Rotowai (Collaborative between Rotorua and Waikato)

• From the National hui 4 wha nau members from Rotowai have decided to attend

Rehabilitation centres. (this is huge success for the Rotowai wha nau).

Central

• A meeting is to be held on the 27th November, 2016 around Central Region

development for 2017.

Northern

• Succession planning and development with rangatahi in the region.

• Continue developing Te Taiao kaupapa within Kaupapa whanau oranga

• Development of roles within the Drug Court for Kaupapa Wha nau Oranga

• Regional hui to celebrate this year’s achievements pre, Christmas hangi 9th Dec

Te Wai Pounamu

• Whanaungatanga happening with regular waiata sessions, and support meetings

held. Rebuilding the foundation of Te Wai Pounamu Kaupapa Wha nau Oranga.

National Body

• Two meetings are to be held in 2017 with Nga Pou around the National Kaupapa

Wha nau Oranga national body, bringing together our collective MOP’s (Models of

Practise) designing and creating a unique National body that maintains the

uniqueness of each region and sustains the ongoing development of individual and

wha nau healing.

Page 11

Hui Summary

Within this recovery hui there was a consistent daily attendance of 150-200 people.

There were a lot of ground breaking new approaches to healing, focusing on all whānau

members, with 12 step meetings, fun based activities for rangatahi, te Āo Māori wānanga,

waiata and whanaungatanga activities.

The approach to this National Hui was to empower positive change through modeling,

information sharing, imparting knowledge, educating and resourcing whānau

appropriately to take responsibility for their own lives. From experience, we have proven

that when you champion whānau aspirations, solutions and model healthy whānau

tikanga, that this builds stronger and more connected and resourceful whānau, our role

then is to sustain the natural whānau practice.

Traditionally within wha nau, a key area of healing is whanaungatanga –restoring and

rekindling relationships. This has been done through the “sharing of stories” which

honours the diversity within wha nau and the community that they come from.

This National Kaupapa Wha nau Oranga Recovery hui reiterated the importance of the

collective movement thinking and development which brings new ways of dealing with

the healing journey of the person in recovery and their wha nau, intertwining the 12-step

program, te A o Ma ori and te ao hurihuri (the ever-changing world).

“Manaaki kaupapa, Manaaki tangata,

Ka haere whakamua.”

Protect the kaupapa, Care for the people and we will move forward.