Waipareira has its own Taekwon-Do black belt and he’s combining martial arts philosophies with the teachings of his old people - all to help youth in the Trust’s Wraparound service.

John Ormsby appreciates the accountability at Waipareira.  “I’m a transparent person and if I do anything wrong I have no problem being answerable.”  In larger organisations, he says, workers can lose their accountability somewhere in the system.

John was born in the fifties in Mangapeehi, near Te Kuiti.  His Ngati Rereahu father and Ngati Rora mother believed, like many of their generation, that there were benefits to bringing up their children “to be like Pakeha” and so, John was sent to a Catholic school.  But he was destined for other things.  “I knew something was wrong.  There weren’t many Maoris at that Catholic school,” he laughs.

John knew even at that age that the teachings of his grandparents were superior to those at the school.  He recalls his Nanny and Koro as humble people who had lived on dirt floors and cooked in a kauta (cookhouse) on an open fire.  “I got from them an appreciation for the smallest things,” says John, “and now any gains and rewards are big.”

John’s journey to social work began in 1985 with his involvement in the Korean art of kick-fighting, Taekwon-Do.  In the early days, he says parents would bring their kids to Papatoetoe’s Dragon Spirit Taekwon-Do Club for discipline.  They felt they had lost power in their homes.  He has come to believe that the city has so much to offer yet very little that people appreciate.  “Today, we live for a buck and a dollar and are in a survival mode rather than a living mode.” 

In 1999, after a career as a carpenter and a long career with Tranzrail, John began his diploma in social service and community work with Manukau Institute of Technology.  He worked for Child, Youth and Family in Otara before joining the Wraparound Service in 2004.

His ties back home to Mangapeehi are strong.  He and his whanau are there at every opportunity.  “It is a continuous cycle because my father’s father lived and helped maintain that marae, then it was my Dad’s turn, then he taught us it was our turn.”  John and his wife Sharon teach the same to their six kids and seven mokos (grandchildren) … we definitely know where we come from.”

“I have an obligation to those who preceded me.  The examples they left mapped out my destiny - from humble beginnings growing up on the marae, off of dirt floors, and in the Kauta at Mangapeehi came a proud, humble Whanau.”

“We faced adversity as my Hapu passively resisted the loss of land, the taking of native timber in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.  Our land has also been lost through the Public Works Act and today through rates.”

Although he tries to steer clear of the politics for now, he believes a time will come where the demand for his carpentry skills will diminish and he will be on the paepae (formal platform for the speakers).  He wants to be thought of as a kaumatua who knows about youth justice and who can advise about influencing the lives of rangatahi (youth) without them having to go through tauiwi (Pakeha) systems.  He is mindful not to under-estimate the responsibility of leadership and good conduct that comes with the role.

“My Whanau have presented life to me on a silver platter through their struggles.  Although they faced ignorance, indifference and oppression and were often ridiculed as uncivilised people, they continued to love and mentor my siblings and me,” reflects John.  “They taught me that those in authority who should have known better, knew very little at all and did not take the time to understand or hear our story.”

John believes there is mana in giving back and it doesn’t need to be financially rewarded.  “It’s when the kaumatua back home looks at you and gives you the raised eyebrow – that’s payment for what you do.”

John believes that the discipline from Tae Kwon Do and the learnings from his Whanau has created a model of social work practice.  “If I can influence the rangatahi I work with and impart on them a little of what I’ve been taught, I believe I will have served them and Te Whanau O Waipareira well.”

- John will be influencing the lives of youth and staff a little bit more with his recent appointment to manager for the Wraparound Service based in Whare Watea in Mangere.