Kāhu ki Rotorua: Healthy community the key

Veena Kameta is the Toi Ora team lead for the Ngati Whakaue Whakanuia at Ohinemutu on Waitangi Day. Photo / Supplied

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See below for English translation

Ko te whānau te pūtahi o te ao hurihuri

Ko te ūmanga matua e whakahihiko ai te ngākau o Veena Kameta ko te mahi tahi me te hāpori.

Rere ka hukere tana hoe ka rere te huka tai. He kanohi kitea ia ki te whaitua o Mangakakahi. Tokotoru ā rāua ko tana hoa rangatira tamariki. Ko tana mahi tuatahi hai pou awhina i te hunga rangatahi, ki kōnei ia whakahaere kaupapa ai, nā wai rā ka kake ki tana mahi hou, hai pou whakahaere mahi ā hāpori, ā, tae noa ki tana tūnga nei hai pou matatau whakahaere.

Kua riro hoki i a ia te tūnga matua mō te tīma Toi Ora ka kitea ā te kaupapa, Whakanuia ka tū ki Ohinemutu ā te rā whakahirahira o Waitangi 2023. Kua toru tau ināianei tēnei kaupapa ki Ohinemutu, ko Vee tētehi o ngā kanohi kitea. Ko tana tau tuarua tēnei ki Whakanuia. He mema ia nō te tīma hākinakina i te tau kua pahemo, engari pai ki a ia a Toi Ora. Ko tētehi tino kitenga āna ko te kaha o te Māori ki te kawe nei i ngā tikanga rongoā.

“Ko te hiahia ki te toutou i te awhero o te wairua ki ngā kawenga mahi a ngā tūpuna pēnei me te rongoā, te mirimiri te whakatikatika i ngā wheua o te tangata me ēnei tūāhuatanga katoa. Kaha kē tātau te Māori ki te waihanga i a mātau ake taonga, pēnei me te hopi , ngā tūmomo hinu rongoā, ngā kirimi i whakapūrero mai i ngā putiputi rongoā me aua rākau katoa o te nehenehe.

Ko te mea whakamīharo, ko te pikinga o te hunga tangata e mātau ana ki te kawe tika i tēnei mātauranga”. Kai tēnei huinga ki Ohinemutu ka nui hoki ngā kanohi hou e kawe nei i te mātauranga hauora, te mātauranga rongoā me te mōhiohio ki te manaaki whenua.

Nō reira e hoa mā, pātaingia ngā mātanga, kāua e wehi. “He māramatanga kai te pātai kotahi he ahakoa he iti, he ahakoa he pakupaku. Ki te hunga pakiki ana ki tēnei tūāhuatanga hai mahi māna pea a taihoa – hāria mai ngā pātai nui ki te pā taunaha o Ohinemutu.

" Kāore e kore, kai ia wāhi hoko tētehi mātanga kua puta i te whare wānanga, i tētehi wānanga rānei. Wheoi anō kia kotahi atu tā tātau haerenga koia te kaupapa nui o tēnei hui kia ngātahi te whētukinga manawa’. Nō te tau kotahi mano, e iwa rau, e whitu tekau mā iwa ka whānau a Veena Harris i Ōtāhuhu. Ka pakekengia i Maramarua, katahi ka heke te whānau katoa ki Rotorua.

Ka aituangia tōna matua tāne ka hipa ngā tau kotahi tekau mā tahi rātau e noho ana i Fordlands e pena pūtea ana, nā wai rā, ka hoko whare rātau i te hāpori o Kaitao Rotohokahoka. He Ngapuhi, he Tainui, he Ngāti Whakaue hoki a Vee. He Ngapuhi, Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Pikiao, Ngai Tūhoe me Tūwharetoa tōna hoa rangatira. Tūturu, nō Pukerata, Otaua nō te Nōtā te whānau. Ka whai take hoki ia ki Ngā Hau e Wha ki Pukekohu, ā, ki te pā taunaha o Tunuhopu me Te Roro o te rangi ki Rotorua.

He mōhio hoki nōna ki te mana o te toutou pungarehu kia kāua te pākaiahi e mātao. Ehara i te mea ka puta ia, ia rā engari anō taua kōrero he kanohi kitea, he kanohi mahana.

Nā te mea he taumaha tana mahi, e kore e oti āna mihi ki tana whānau e kaha akiaki tonu i a ia ki a kake ai ia ki te tāhūhū o te rangi, he ahakoa te pō nui, he ahakoa te pō iti.

‘Ko te pirangi ki te whakapakari i taku tinana e ora ai ahau me taku whānau, he hiahia hoki nōku ki te nanao atu ki ngā puna mātauranga hou’. ' Ka tae koe ki te taumata mahi, pou whakahaere, pūare kau katoa ngā whatitoka o te ao ki a koe, nā reira ka kaha kē koe ki te whakahuri i te wairua, ngā whakaaro otīā te āhuatanga o te mahi’.

Veena Kameta is the Toi Ora team lead for the Ngati Whakaue Whakanuia at Ohinemutu on Waitangi Day. Photo / Supplied

Ka pātaingia tana utu mō te mātauranga, e ai ki a Vee, he waimarie nōna. ' Nōku te maringi nui nā taku wāhi mahi taku taha ki te mātauranga i nama. Engari anō nōku e kura ana ka kotahi atu ahau ki te whai tohu, ā, nōku hoki i te kāinga e tiaki pēpi ana, he mātauranga anō hoki tēnā'.

“Nōna e itiiiti ai he wairua ngangana kē tōna. ‘Nōku e whā noa te rahi kua mōhio ahau ki te pānui pukapuka, ki te tuhituhi anō nei kua pakeke ake ahau i te nuinga o taku whānau. Nā te mea he rahi hoki tō mātau whānau, ko te tikanga he tūnga mahi kai ia tangata. Ko tāku he manaaki, he tiaki i aku taina me aku tuakana, nō reira tōku wairua pakari nei e tū ai ahau ināianei, hai wahine toa.’

Ū tika tōna ngākau ki te kaupapa:’ He ahakoa te kaupapa, mēnā ko taku mahi ake, he mahi hāpai noa, he mahi utu, kore utu rānei, ki te maara, ki te papa tākaro kai reira ahau, tinana, wairua, hinengaro hoki’. He wahine mōhio ia ki te iti, nā reira tana mihi ki ngā mea kai āna ringaringa. ' Kāore aku manawa kōrero ki taku whānau whānui. Me i kore rātau kua toromi noa ahau.

Nā tō rātau aroha ki ahau kua taea e ahau ki te whakatutuki i aku mahi katoa’. Kare kau āna rautaki pae tawhiti , ko te mea nui kia rangatira ngā mahi kia mana tana kupu. Tērā pea, ko tana mahi paetawhiti hai pouawhina mō tana iwi, he mahi whenua rānei. Engari anō tana tino mihi ki te hangarau o te ao hou. ' Ka puta ahau i te kura, ka kite ahau i ngā painga o tēnei taonga.

Nā tēnei taonga hoki kua tūwhera ngā huarahi huhua ki taku aroaro’. Tērā anō hoki tetehi kaupapa ko te wā o te māuiui urutā. Kāore rawa ia i noho taumaha, ka warea katoatia e ia ki te oranga o ōna pou mahi, tana wāhi mahi me āna tama. ' He itiiiti nō taku pūtea i te pēke i tahuri ai ahau ki te tukituki whenua ki te mahi kai māku, ā, kai te tukituki whenua tonu ahau.

Nā te māuiui urutā i noho puku ahau, e haupuaroaro ana taku wairua ka rere ngā whakaaro ki a tātau tonu te tangata, ki te tuku mahi ki a whiwhi moni ai te tangata, whaihoki ki te tautoko i āku tama e hākinakina ana.’ E tika ana te pepeha, ko te whānau te pūtahi o te ao hurihuri.

“Nā taku pūmau me taku whakapono ki te kaha o taku wairua e kaha nei au ki te awhina i taku hāpori, e mātau ai ahau ki taku whakapapa e ora nei taku reo moroki noa nei’. Ko te pae tata kia ū atu ahau ki ngā mahi ā te iwi me ngā kaupapa marae hoki e akeake ai ngā ikanga o tō tātau ao kia kaha ai ngā uri whakatupu’.

Mō te wā tū nei kai te warea te mana o Vee ki te kaupapa o Whakanuia ka tū ki Ohinemutu a te tuaono o Pepuere o tēnei tau.

—Na Raimona Inia i whakamaori

English Translation

Working with communities to create a better future has been a life-long journey for Veena Kameta and there’s no sign of it slowing down.

She is a familiar figure around the Mangakakahi area of Rotorua where she lives with her husband and three sons. As a youth worker Vee was an Activities and Events Coordinator then a Community Development Coordinator and now a facilities manager.

Vee is also Toi Ora team lead for the Ngati Whakaue Whakanuia: For the Love of the People — Ohinemutu Waitangi Day Festival 2023.

This series of Waitangi Day Whakanuia has been running for three years and this is the second year Vee has taken a major role. Last time she was in the hakinakina team, but she really enjoys the Toi Ora space.

From her experience within various networks, Vee says it is obvious whanau continue their interest in traditional rongoa and practices.

“The purpose is to ignite interest in an area that has traditional and medicinal practices, or the field of mirimiri, physio, chiropractor and more.

“It’s obvious whanau continue to create their own mahi in making balms, oils, creams by harvesting plants from the ngahere or garden.

“We have a growing rate of maori practitioners becoming skilled.”

At this year’s Whakanuia Vee said attendees can expect some new faces ranging from hauora, rongoa and whenua workshops.

People interested in the various fields should attend and ask questions.

“Anyone can benefit if they would like to know more or see what we will have on the day.

“If you want to become trained in a specific area, I’d recommend you come and ask those questions.

“Each stallholder would have had to take up some training and let’s find that out together.

“This mahi is always revolving.”

Veena Harris was born at Otahuhu, Tamaki Makaurau, in 1979. She was raised in Pukekohe and Maramarua before the family relocated to Rotorua. Her father died in a tragic accident and the whanau lived in Fordlands for 11 years before buying the whanau home in Western Heights.

Vee is of Ngapuhi, Tainui, and Ngati Whakaue descent. Her husband connects to Ngapuhi, Ngati Whakaue, Pikiao, Ngai Tuhoe, and Tuwharetoa. The whanau are from Pukerata Marae, Otaua, Northand, Nga Hau e Wha at Pukekohe and the Ngati Whakaue marae Tunohopu and Te Roro o te Rangi.

Vee does stay in contact with her pa “not every day or week but we do awhi and mahi tautoko when the call is made.”

Her mahi demands full-on attention and Vee is grateful for the help of whanau to achieve her goals.

Her current path was inspired by the “need to want more from myself for my whānau, an eagerness to learn new skills.

“Doors open when you become a manager then you can make a difference alongside others, your peers and network well.”

Asked about the cost of gaining qualifications Vee said she had been lucky.

“At some stage I was fortunate to have my quals covered through the workplace. A lot of the learning I had studied while I was young and in school. Then I had a lot of hands-on experience while I was a stay home mum.”

Vee has stood out from the crowd since she was a youngster.