Biography
Rangimahora Reddy (Raukawa, Ngati Maniapoto, Waikato Tainui, Ngati Rangiwewehi me Rangitane) Originally from Himatangi, Rangimahora has worked for Rauawaawa Kaumātua Charitable Trust since 2010. Working with Kaumātua or those she describes as “nga matauranga taonga” makes Rauawaawa a very special place to be. Rangimahora has been educated at Massey University and has spent the last three decades working in both the health and education sectors.
Reddy, R.
Symposium
He Kāinga Pai Rawa: A Really Good Home
Dr Mary Simpson is a Senior Lecturer, Management Communication Waikato, with 15 years in health social work working primarily with elders and families. She brings expertise in qualitative research, and working with elders, kaumātua, and Te Rauawaawa (research and with student volunteers for the Kaumātua Olympics and Kaumātua Idol). She contributes to research design, execution, and dissemination. Mary lives at Kōpū-ārahi with her husband Craig Kennedy. They have three children and two grandchildren.
Simpson, M.
Yvonne Wilson (Rangitane) has experience in managing and leading a for-kaumātua-by-kaumātua organisation. She also brings networks in the health and social services sector serving kaumātua and has skills in project management, financial management and business development. She co-leads the project, specifically managing contractual and working relationships with advisory and experts groups.
Wilson, Y.
Dr Sophie Nock (Ngāti Kurī) is a fluent speaker of te reo Māori and a senior lecturer, in Te Pua Wānanga ki te Ao, the Faculty of Māori & Indigenous Studies, University of Waikato. Sophie is primarily involved in the teaching and researching of te reo Māori, and has published a number of articles in this area. Her Master’s thesis investigated the impact of colonization on Māori culture. Her PhD thesis investigated the teaching and learning of te reo Māori in English-medium New Zealand secondary schools (13-18 years) in relation, to teaching materials, teaching methodologies, and teacher cognition. She brings experience and expertise in Kaupapa Māori, tikanga Māori and te reo Māori.
Nock, S.
Physical and social environments are powerful influences on Healthy Ageing. They shape trajectories of capacity and can extend what a person is able to do (their functional ability). Age-friendly environments allow older people to be and to do what they have reason to value by enabling them to maximize both their capacity and their ability. From inception to implementation, the Moa Crescent urban kaumātua village required a culturally responsive approach in order to achieve a truly age-friendly environment for kaumātua/older Māori.
One of the first urban examples of community-led culturally responsive social housing for kaumātua in Aotearoa, Moa Crescent was developed by Te Rūnanga o Kirikiriroa (and later its subsidiary Ngā Rau Tātangi) during the period 2012-2014. Consistent with culturally responsive housing models, the village offers shared common areas for communal village interaction and supports kaumātua-supporting-kaumātua.
This session reports on a strength-based, Māori organisation, and kaumātua focused, holistic, and cultural approach to creating, secure, affordable, sustainable, age-friendly and healthy housing for kaumātua. The vision for our study is to develop a model of best practice for other Māori organizations and communities who want to create culturally responsive, urban kaumātua housing. The overall study applies community-based participatory methods to ensure stakeholder relevance and cultural appropriateness.
The intended outcomes of this study are to:
(1) improve the development of quality and supply of culturally responsive urban kaumātua housing by identifying the success factors of the Moa Crescent village. This is with a view to: identify improvements in the current model; create sustainable environments where kaumātua well-being is supported through connectedness of the community and; address the needs of our rapidly growing kaumātua population for secure, affordable, and healthy housing.
(2) develop a potential Best Practice Tool for use by other Māori organizations and communities which want to create culturally responsive, urban kaumātua housing; and
(3) create the foundation for a research agenda to investigate how to translate the successful organising and residential components of Moa Cres for other Māori organisations wanting to provide secure, healthy and affordable homes for kaumātua and/or whanau.
The findings to date highlight the multiple relationships across numerous sectors needed to create culturally responsive age-friendly environments in -centred intervention designed to address the health and wellbeing needs of Māori kaumātua.
Key findings, themes and lessons learnt will be presented.
Presenter 1:
One of the first urban examples of community-led culturally responsive social housing for kaumātua in Aotearoa, Moa Crescent was developed by Te Rūnanga o Kirikiriroa (and later its subsidiary Ngā Rau Tātangi) during the period 2012-2014. From inception to implementation, the Moa Crescent urban kaumātua village required a culturally responsive approach in order to achieve a truly age-friendly environment for kaumātua/older Māori. A collaboration of community groups, supported the financing, design and build of a Kaumātua Village. This journey required buy-in from many stakeholders, to overcome the multiple barriers in order to best support Māori aspirations and needs for affordable, culturally appropriate and healthy housing for kaumātua .
The village is a mix of 14, one and two bedroom homes of high quality, built and designed for kaumātua. The 19 residents are aged 55 to 95; 15 identify as Māori and 4 non-Māori. The vision and a brief overview of the journey to its completion along with an introduction of the three think pieces that are part of the overall study is presented here.
Presenter 2:
Think Piece 1, “Te Moemoeā”
(The dream/vision/desire)
The overall study incorporated three Think Pieces based on two phases (2012 and 2014) of the Moa Cres initiative. The first Think Piece, “Te Moemoeā” (The dream/vision/desire), identifies the organising processes, relationships, costs (e.g., financial, time), and leadership required to implement the original kaumātua village initiative. Presented in this section are the identified success factors and barriers in developing initial components of an organisational best-practice and transferrable model for developing an urban kaumātua village. Also identified are the ways and extent that project leadership (e.g., from Te Rūnanga o Kirikiriroa, Ngā Rau Tātangi) understand the lives of kaumātua residents have changed through living in the village.
Presenter 3:
Think Piece 2, “Kia Tūtuki te Moemoeā”
(The road to making the dream a reality),
The overall study incorporated three Think Pieces based on two phases (2012 and 2014) of the Moa Cres initiative. The second Think Piece, “Kia Tūtuki te Moemoeā” (The road to making the dream a reality), focuses on the perspectives of the other multiple organisations involved in the establishing and building of the kaumātua village initiative. How these multiple groups perceived the nature of the organisation in building the village; the impact on the ways they work and would like to work in future; and in what ways they consider the kaumātua villages to have made a difference and to whom.
Presenter 4:
Think Piece 3, “Kua ea te Moemoeā”
(The achievement of the dream/vision)
The overall study incorporated three Think Pieces based on two phases (2012 and 2014) of the Moa Cres initiative. The third Think Piece, “Kua ea te Moemoeā” (The achievement of the dream/vision), investigates the kaumātua residents and their whanau. Their thoughts on the process used to implement the initiative, what in the way of health, wellbeing and quality of life has changed in their lives and that of their families, whether the kaumātua village has made a difference and to whom and are they better off because of staying in the kaumātua village. Finally, what in their opinion makes the village a success and what could be done better if another village was to be set up for kaumātua, or whānau elsewhere. An overall summary of best practice for a transferrable model is expected to be developed, in this piece along with recommendations for future research projects.
