Hei whakapai ake , Making a difference
Ka rere te hue mataati.
The first shoot of the gourd stretches out. Once the gourd begins to send its runners out they continue until they bear fruit.
-Ngā Pēpeha a ngā Tīpuna, The Sayings of the Ancestors, Nā Hirini Moko Mead rāua ko Neil Grove, Victoria University Press (2001).
Making a difference doesn’t mean changing everything at once. But it does mean developing an overall approach to change, setting some realistic goals and putting them in place. Try these steps as a start.
Step one:
Refer to Professor Fran Baum’s model of winners and losers and discuss with your colleagues how (in practice) you could be hard on problems and soft on people.
Step two:
Familiarise yourself with the health models of Dr Mason Durie (Te Whare Tapa Whā) and Dr Rose Pere (Te Wheke).
Step three:
Build up your knowledge, skills and understanding of the Māori culture and how it complements western thinking and approaches.
Step four:
Take time out to become familiar with rongoā Māori (traditional therapies and practices) and tohunga (traditional healers).
Step five:
Participate in professional development and training.
Step six:
Identify ways to improve and expand your networks and relationships within the wider community to help you work more effectively with whānau.
Step seven:
Identify and collect the range of tools, resources and information you need to work more effectively with whānau.
