1. situations as they happened
2. the circumstances that led to them
3. the people and agencies who were involved
4. their roles as events unfolded, and
5. you will recognise all sorts of outcomes from those experiences
Some viewed documents, records, and photographs; and some shared their recollections with others before writing. These accounts describe the dynamic and extraordinary journey of Te Roopu Taurima; from its modest beginnings at Mangere hospital to this day of celebration. The stories are gripping besides being a really good read.
The book is dedicated to two fellow travellers of that journey, Aunty Mere Knight and Matua Tui Adams because their influences on Te Roopu Taurima are still felt today. Also, there is another strong supporter the Minister for Disability Issues Tariana Turia. She wrote the foreword to the book.
Then the book starts in strength. The chairperson John Marsden leads off and sets the pace from a governance perspective. His story is informative and addresses the complications to the governance role of the board when running a start-up business.
These complications included four main elements:
1. whanau wants, their needs and their demands
2. agencies’ helping us or hindering the kaupapa
3. the usual demands of running a business complicated by the start-up, and
4. subsequent bedding in of business systems and service delivery protocols
Then in a thought-provoking way, John Stacey sets the scene around the political and social environments of the day. There were government imperatives to disestablish Mangere Hospital and St John’s Home in Papatoetoe and relocate mokopuna into community housing. Not everyone agreed including the unions. John talks about two key factions of families. One faction vehemently opposed the closure of Mangere hospital and as a result they targeted:
1. health management and
2. the other faction of families who wanted community homes and
3. staff who moved; and furthermore those staff were derided by other staff with the double whammy from the union who mistakenly saw a weakened membership.
While the targeting was distasteful, the changes were positive and inevitable because they happened anyway.
The pace of the book quickens as the mana whakahaere Tui Tenari recounts the journey from Mangere Hospital days, St John’s Home and finally from Spectrum Care Trust to Te Roopu Taurima. This is a fascinating and compelling account of two conflicting initiatives. Because on one hand there were whanau who wanted their loved ones cared for by a kaupapa Maori service provider. In other words, mokopuna were to live under the korowai of tikanga Maori as a way of life. This was heart-beating stuff. In the context of the day it was a new way, it was threatening and new tikanga best practices were emerging through Maori services.
Then on the other hand, political and social constraints did not make it easy for Te Roopu Taurima. You might have hoped otherwise, but the reality was that tikanga Maori was not promoted or nurtured by mainstream. Indicative of the mood were the declarations that Te Roopu Taurima O Manukau would fail. This was the front from whence services’ contracts were negotiated and specifications met. While there were so many other machinations faced by the roopu, the promise that the mana whakahaere made to whanau “we will look after your loved one” has not been betrayed. Her great passion is for the best, quality of care for mokopuna. Beyond doubt she understands whanau ora and the place of mokopuna within whanau. This is in contrast to what happened in the hospital; and what caused Te Roopu Taurima O Manukau to emerge and then to grow.
The next contributor Lorraine Bailey describes some historical milestones with recognitions of key players and their roles. It is clear that she too was there and this story is as enthralling as the previous three. The story traverses the setting up of services delivered to mokopuna and whanau in various regions with focus on residential services. Service deliveries required systematic approaches to successfully meet the identified needs of mokopuna. The systems bedded down were reliant upon groups of caring, committed and competent kaimahi. Otherwise it would not have worked.
Like others, this collection of stories pays tribute to staff who were courageous, innovative and professional and these are key values of Te Roopu Taurima. If we look at staff for a moment and think about this:
1. How much courage did you need to leave a secure employer; the benefits of stable employment; and to begin with a new one who had been in business only for a day or a week? Remember also the opposition they faced. Lisa Chant in her story covers off the role of the union in this episode.
2. And ponder this, what sorts of leaders (staff) took mokopuna on holiday to Bali and Fiji some of whom were wheelchair bound? That sort of leadership leaves you breathless, because it has no boundaries, except what is good for mokopuna.
3. Who were the staff whereby models of care for mokopuna were innovated, tested and as a testament to them are still used today?
4. Who were the staff who thought outside the square and who innovated the:
a. whariki whakaruruhau model of care that no one else in the country is using
b. raranga kounga quality checklist, and te oranga pumau care plan adapted from Kahukura Atawhai
c. who innovated tauira poutama so much that Matua Tui Adams said was so forward thinking, so visionary that it could be used by any culture in the world
d. nga purapura whetu as a performance and training appraisal
e. nga ratonga tikanga Maori? Matua Tui Adams was so impressed that his agreement was taken as kua whakamanahia, and it guides Korowai Aroha
5. We can take this further, recently there has been the adoption of a quality of care framework called the kawa of care that no one else is talking about; a risk management framework called the kawa mataara that requires us to be alert to risks; and a quality improvements framework called kawa whakapai
So far so good, but something is missing from the book. What the four previous stories do not articulate is the inspirational leadership that each of those contributors have had on this journey of Te Roopu Taurima. Not to worry. The rest of the contributors have because many people displayed leadership in other roles as well.
For instance, Korowai Aroha has the most important role as the guardian of nga ratonga tikanga Maori. More importantly were the numerous ways that they showed support to mokopuna, whanau, kaimahi and the kaupapa of Te Roopu Taurima. Their stories are dignified and respectful.
Then there are the cameo contributions from mokopuna and whanau. These are thought-provoking. Behind their stories stand the faces of people who receive our services and their whanau. There are four key elements:
1. there were fears and doubts about whether or not whanau should have left their loved ones with Te Roopu Taurima
2. they did, and one can sense the courage and trust that they needed to have
3. that trust turned to relief, then to gratitude
4. as a whanau they realised that they had made the right decision for the whanau and their loved ones, by leaving them in the manaaki of Te Roopu Taurima.
Other stories from mokopuna are gripping. They:
· talk with pride about where they have come from
· what they have achieved
· and where they are now
These are “talks from the heart, by the heart, to the heart.”
The book ends in strength. Each of the executive managers has contributed stories. They take the reader through many recent events and introduce key people. These are backed up by strong contributions from staff. Those stories describe the short and long steps of the journey, as well as multiple milestones. If I was a manu korero for Te Roopu Taurima, I would be salivating over the knowledge and information in this book.
There have been many friends who have walked this journey or parts of it with us and some have contributed to this book. We salute you all; you make us humble; we appreciate what you have done for us, and we thank you. The poroporoaki at the end of the book to Aunty Mere Knight and Matua Tui Adams are accompanied by photographs of Hikurangi maunga, Ngati Porou; and the awa Waipa of Ngati Maniapoto.
Finally, this book is produced for the 10th anniversary of Te Roopu Taurima O Manukau Trust. We think that you will find it:
· enjoyable, informative, gripping, thought-provoking, and entertaining
Enjoy the read, because you will agree that for us Te Roopu Taurima O Manukau, “there is no going back, we can only go forward, E Kore, a Muri, e Hokia.”
No reira, e te Iwi kua whakarongo mai, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa
Brian Emery, 1 November 2009
Te Puea Marae, Mangere Bridge
