Senior management women and the Chairperson of the Trust Board (Left to right standing) Ngaire Te Hira (Executive Communication), Evelyn Taumaunu (Chairperson), Marina Vasau (Centre Manager Te Rito Early Childhood)
(Sitting at the back) Diane Tuari (Executive Business Manager), Josie O'Dwyer (Kai and nutrition), Renee Murupaenga (Manager Health Clinic)
(Sitting at the front) Lilly Asekona (Home Care), Manu Graham (Early Intervention), Mere Tunks (Director of Education), Elaine (Manager Mental Health)
(Absent) Edith McNeil (Executive Manager Contracts & Funding)
Written by Ngaire Te Hira
The essence of this executive and senior management team made up of Maori women is that they affiliate to all Iwi in Aotearoa, their canoes are many and they utter the names of the many mountains that their ancestors acknowledged, their waterways and coastal seashores which are still playgrounds for their whanau. They speak proudly of their genealogies and all work hard in Waipareira by placing a stake in the ground to secure a better place for the Whanau to be, now and in the future. They are proud whaea who stand tall and service with their teams the daily activities for and with Te Whanau O Waipareira.
Having so many Maori women at the helm of the Trust's operations is very unique and the driving force sends a very clear message to the whanau. The whaea are willing and equipped, and have taken up the challenge to role model positive and strong stances. They bring their kite (baskets) filled with the new learnt found tools into the Trust to further grow and develop the maturity of the infrastructure, the services, the strengths and potential of the whanau. In today’s society Maori women are beginning to feature in all aspects of management and their determination to provide a safe and harmonious place for the whanau to be in must be commended.
Mere Tunks (Whanau Apanui) – Director, Education Unit
"The Trust is unique because of the inclusion and development by Maori for Maori before it became an over the motu fashion to support Maori enterprise. It is an early grown community whanau development model and unique because it exists outside and independent but inclusive to Hapu and Iwi."
Mere believes for her the succession is 'casting a net out for potential interested people with a Waipareira and Maori development philosophy and a capacity to work outside mainstream.'
Renee Murupaenga (Ngapuhi, Te Rarawa) – Senior Manager Health Clinic
"Where to from here," says Renee. "It is past the time of waiting for something to happen. It is high time that high needs health clinics are reimbursed for the work that no none else is doing or wants to do. The menial compensation that high needs clinics receive is a joke and a bad one at that. We need to use whatever contacts we have and speak out that we are not going to take this lying down and we will not put up with Maori being at the bottom of the barrel, we will not be grateful for anything other than what we rightfully deserve."
About working at Waipareira, Renee said, "The passion staff have for the betterment of the whanau is unique. Many staff members here actually care. I have never worked for an organisation that have so many projects and service delivery tools directed at high needs populations before."
Edith Mc Neil (Ngapuhi, Ngati Kahu) – Executive Manager, Contracts & Funding
"I first came to just help out with the integration project and after five years I am still here and I still have lots more to give to the Whanau. It has been a very exciting five years and for the past eighteen months its been a whirl. I am in the right place, at the right time with the right whanau and the whanau dreams are my dreams. It's all work and at times weary but maintaining focus and keeping our eyes on the bigger picture helps one to commit to the cause of self-determination the Waipareira Way."
Diane Tuari (Ngati Porou) – Executive Manager, Cooperate Services
"Leadership is important to our advancement and the thrive for our Maori people is to ensure that our leaders are all singing off the same song sheet. There is no room for excuses and no room for justifications or err. Our young await our actions and we have a nation dependent on our actions. We must not be afraid to stand against the forces that have diminished our populations, culture, language and history. Both our men and women must continue to advance as the Waipareira whakatauki says, "Progressively act in unity – kokiritia I roto I Te Kotahitanga."
Ngaire Te Hira (Ngapuhi, Te Rarawa) – Executive Manager Public Relations
"My acknowledgment goes to those whaea who have passed on now, the ones who worked really hard as volunteers and earned the respect of the West Auckland community for their stances as our Maori women which led the way. Aunty Tapu Henare, Aunty Sadie Graham, Aunty Eva Noble, Aunty Tuini Hakaraia, Aunty Mavis Tuoro, Aunty Mate Tepu, Ma Pukepuke, Whaea Hine Taumaunu and many others. They built the foundations that other Wahine Maori can now build upon to strengthen and widen so that all the whanau can benefit from."
"This is my whakatauki in acknowledging our Whaea Tupuna - "It's while doing the ordinary things that the extraordinary things are being fashioned."
Betty Whakatau (Te Aitanga-a-Mahaki) – Senior Manager of Social Services
"My most memorable moment of being in Waipareira was at my first Senior Management meeting. I was finally encircled by all these ‘brown faces’ and my second most memorable moment was rolling up the sleeves and 'just doing it.'"
"My succession plan is to assist in the development of a quality social service plan which will enable the Trust to be in a position to take all Maori tamariki and rangatahi who are custodians of CYFS in West Auckland and facilitate a process of linking and placing them back with their whanau and hapu".