Ana Apatu: Our focus remains Flaxmere

Ana Apatu, CEO U-Turn Trust. Photo / Duncan Brown

The U-Turn Trust was established in September 2009. Our purpose is to provide financial, political and emotional support to Pam and Henare O'Keefe.

Trustees Rex Graham, Taine Randell, Lawrence Yule and Tracee Te Huia set the vision. Henare O'Keefe JP QSM, ambassador, and part-time Hastings District Councillor, Craig McDougall and I, are employees of the trust. A lean team reliant on volunteer and community support.

Our focus is to support the wellbeing of families of Flaxmere. Our mantra, 'if we get it right for Flaxmere - we get it right for everyone'. But yes to those who query us - our focus is Flaxmere.

With little or no Government intervention our various projects include:

1. Te Aranga Community Garden. A garden for the community of Flaxmere. Located on 5.4ha leased from the Office of Treaty Settlement for $1 per annum with the right to purchase. Our garden provides the opportunity to feed, to learn, to grow, to nourish, to heal and to engage. A partnership with J M Bostock provides a Fair for Life income from JB's Fair Trade organic apple sales. This funding supports our Te Aranga garden for the community, gardens in homes and gardens in schools programmes. More on our gardening project at a later date.

2. Our Heroes calendar project, sponsored by Totara Health. This calendar, delivered free to all Flaxmere residents, provides the opportunity to share stories of Flaxmere's incredible talent. How many small New Zealand communities are able to claim four All Blacks in the last decade?

3. Tunu Tunu mobile gas barbecue sponsored by Unison. Hits the streets where there may be some concern. A seemingly simple way of providing free kai, (300 sausages at a time) creates a unique, informal way of connecting neighbourhoods and agencies.

4. Flaxmere Boxing Academy led by Craig McDougall, Hawke's Bay person of the year 2013 and recipient of a Vodafone World of Difference scholarship. Based on Billy Graham's Boxing Academy, Nae Nae, and discipline of Olympic style amateur boxing. Craig, passionate and dedicated. A waiting list, backlog of boys and young men referred to this programme. Initially a sceptic of boxing - I quickly realised the boxing is just a vehicle in which to teach discipline and respect. A social worker from Family Works shares 'I may have planted a seed with these children but the work that Craig and FBA does allows these seeds to flourish'.

5. MAC Sports. Originated in Bridge Pa 1934. The club's origins are from a Maori rugby team that made a major contribution to New Zealand and Hawke's Bay sports. These contributions include seven All Blacks; George Nepia and Lui Paewai of the 'invincibles' and more recently Toni Reid, Everard Jackson and Taine Randell. Taine coaches MAC Juniors. Originally a Flaxmere boy himself. Our funders support us to provide good quality rugby jerseys (blue and white - let's get away from the red) and rugby balls for the junior boys. Our next steps, the building of alcohol-free MAC clubrooms, Flaxmere Park. But let's not forget MAC netball. Go girls.

There is inevitable cross over with Te Aranga Marae and U-Turn activities. Two spirits in the same waka. Examples are prisoner rehabilitation with Te Aranga, family support and housing. With the expert Peter leading role clarity and strategic planning, we have been sifting through roles and accountability - yep I am Henare's boss.

Henare describes my role as the detail behind the tsunami. A balancing act of providing detail and structure. There is no lack of vision with my team and I don't want to kill it. Working for the Hawke's Bay District Health Board, as the senior population health adviser, planning was what we did. Strategic planning, project planning, annual planning, financial planning, you name it planning. The trustees are wary of committing themselves to a strategic plan that 'locks them into a box'. At our last trust meeting when presenting our strategic plan, the wariness from a couple of the trustees was palpable.

At one stage Taine folds his arms, leans back in his chair and states 'the beauty about what we do Ana is that we are nimble. We are able to respond to what comes in front of us'.

• Ana Apatu will write a weekly column for Hawke's Bay Today, replacing Jacoby Poulain. Ana is chief executive of the U-Turn Trust, based at Te Aranga Marae in Flaxmere.