Healthy Families Whanganui Rangitīkei Ruapehu

29/05/2026

As we prepare for the rising of Puanga and Matariki in the eastern sky, a sign that our Māori new year has arrived, our team spent some time together during this week intentionally reflecting on what no longer serves us, what we want to nurture moving forward, and the lessons we carry with us into the year ahead.

We acknowledged those who had passed, reflected on the relationships, habits, behaviours, and ways of working we no longer need to hold on to, considered the seeds we want to sow in the year ahead, and acknowledged the lessons that challenge and growth can bring.

In systems change mahi we often talk about transforming systems, structures, and outcomes. But transformation also asks us to reflect on how we show up together, what we nurture, and what we choose to let go of.

Mātauranga Māori is not simply something we acknowledge culturally, it continues to provide practical ways of strengthening wellbeing, deepening relationships, supporting reflection, and intentionally shaping healthier futures for our people and communities.

24/05/2026

What happens when distress shows up after the system has closed for the day? Across Aotearoa, whānau continue to navigate crisis, grief, and isolation outside the hours many services are available. This whakaaro challenges us to rethink how policy, funding, and wellbeing systems can better reflect the realities of people’s lives.

What happens when distress shows up after the system has closed for the day? Across Aotearoa, whānau continue to navigate crisis, grief, and isolation outside the hours many services are available. This whakaaro challenges us to rethink how policy, funding, and wellbeing systems can better refle

19/05/2026

Last Wednesday we shared Te Whare Piringa as a Package of Care at the Te Ikaroa Region Perinatal Mental Health Symposium: Real Listening, Real Change, supported by Whāraurau.

Through the voices of māmā, clinicians and kaimahi, we shared what it means to walk alongside whānau in ways that are relational, connected and grounded in kaupapa Māori.

Te Whare Piringa is not a service, it is a place-based village where trusted relationships, collective care and whanaungatanga sit at the centre.

Whakanuia i ngā māmā, ngā pāpā me ngā whānau! Nā rātou i whāngaihia i te kaupapa, ka puāwaitia a Te Whare Piringa

24/04/2026

Communities deserve systems that are built around their realities, not the other way around.

When services are joined up, when decision-making is shaped by lived experience, and when power and resources are shared more fairly, we create the conditions for real, lasting wellbeing.

This is about moving beyond fragmented approaches and building something that is responsive, relational, and grounded in the strengths of whānau and the places they call home.

https://www.healthyfamilieswrr.org.nz/news/foodforthought

04/03/2026

Rakaunui is upon us 🌕
With the extra light comes amplified energy. The maramataka reminds us that when we move with these natural rhythms, not against them, our wellbeing is strengthened.
Within the kaupapa of Te Hoeroa Tū Manawa Ora, listening to rangatahi has led to a new approach, one guided by the maramataka and holistic Māori wellbeing. By aligning physical activity with natural energy cycles, exercise becomes more than just activity. It becomes intentional, achievable, and empowering.
Rakaunui invites us to tune in, honour where our energy sits, and move in ways that support hauora.

Discover how Te Hoeroa Tū Manawa Ora aligns physical activity with the maramataka to support rangatahi wellbeing. A culturally grounded, holistic approach to movement that strengthens hauora, identity, and connection to te taiao.

17/02/2026

Messina Su’a, born and raised in Whanganui with whakapapa connections to Samoa, has recently completed her summer internship with Te Oranganui. During her time, she worked within our Healthy Families Whanganui, Rangitīkei, Ruapehu team and alongside Te Waipuna Medical Centre.

Messina is currently in her fourth year of postgraduate study at the University of Otago. After graduating with a degree majoring in Pacific and Global Health, she applied for this internship to put her learning into practice within a real community setting.
While with us, Messina completed a report and presentation exploring what it would take to integrate oral health services into Te Waipuna and Te Oranganui. This involved reviewing how dental services are currently delivered across Aotearoa and outlining the practical requirements and considerations for establishing a local service.

Her research highlighted that although oral health care for rangatahi is free until age 18, many fall through the gaps when transitioning from school dental services to community providers. Barriers such as transport, missed appointments, complex enrolment processes, and capped provider funding all contribute to disengagement, which often continues into adulthood once free care ends.

Messina found that fixed dental clinics offer stability, continuity of care, and work best when integrated with GP and Māori primary health services. They help build trust, better manage missed appointments, and support whānau-centred care, though they do require upfront investment. Mobile clinics can improve access, particularly in rural and school settings, but are harder to sustain long-term and work best as a complement to a stable fixed clinic rather than a replacement.

One thing is clear: strong foundations matter. A reliable fixed clinic, clear referral pathways, and targeted outreach are essential to keeping young people engaged and improving long-term oral health outcomes for Māori and whānau.

Messina shared that she really valued connecting with health professionals, learning how healthcare operates in practice, and working alongside like-minded interns passionate about community and its future. Her biggest learning was working in a kaupapa Māori space and seeing how values and relationships guide everyday practice. Being immersed in that environment helped her better understand how lived experiences shape the way services are received and trusted.

Messina reflects, “Hearing about the positive impact that the Menemene Mai event had in the community was a real reminder of why this work matters. Learning about how integrated oral health services have worked in other places has also been motivating, because it shows what could be possible for Whanganui.”

She concludes, “I would love to see an integrated oral health service that is sustainable and genuinely shaped around the needs of our community.”

Thank you, Messina, for your contribution to this mahi. We wish you all the very best with your postgraduate studies and future in public health.

13/02/2026

We were established with a clear and ambitious purpose: to prevent chronic disease and improve health and wellbeing by changing the systems that shape our everyday lives. Rather than focusing on individual behaviour, we work to transform the environments, policies and norms that influence health and wellbeing where we live, learn, work and play.

Addressing these challenges is no small task. They are complex and interconnected, shaped by decades of policy, practice, and inequity.

Recently, Managers from across our eleven location teams came together to reflect on the implementation of the initiative to date, using one of our simple but powerful disciplines: check, reflect, adapt.

Managers shared insights, examined what is working well, identified opportunities to strengthen and most importantly reflected on the core purpose to ensure the work continues to deliver meaningful impact for communities

Healthy Families NZ was established with a clear and ambitious purpose: to prevent chronic disease and improve health and wellbeing by changing the systems that shape our everyday lives. Rather than focusing on individual behaviour, we work to transform the environments, policies and norms that infl...

12/02/2026

Kierah Hay-Martin, originally from Taihape, with whakapapa connections to Ngāti Whitikaupeka, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga, Ngāti Kuia, and Ngāti Koata, has completed her internship within Innovation and Research at Te Oranganui. She is passionate about rangatahi wellbeing, physical activity, and kaupapa Māori approaches.

Kierah is also in her last year of studying towards a Bachelor of Sport and Human Performance at the University of Waikato. With Physical Education always being her favourite subject at Kura, continuing into this field felt like a natural pathway. She has spent the past five weeks developing a Rangatahi-Centred Approach to Physical Activity within Te Hoeroa Tū Manawa Ora - an empowerment kaupapa designed for rangatahi aged 14–24. Last week, she presented her findings and research and this week she submitted her report before she returns to university to complete her final year.

When asked about the changes she hopes to see as a result of this mahi, she articulates a clear aspiration for sustainable, system-level impact that extends beyond immediate programme delivery and contributes to long-term wellbeing outcomes. She explains she would,

“…love to see the maramataka used more in planning and programming. I think it could make a huge difference for rangatahi if we actually worked with those natural rhythms.”

She explains that internal wellbeing is foundational to overall Hauora, and that when rangatahi feel better within themselves, that wellbeing ripples outward. She identified that Hauora is motivated by opportunities that allow rangatahi to strengthen their confidence through secure environments and a positive sense of identity.

Kierah has enjoyed being part of a cohort of interns over the
summer break and we look forward to seeing her complete her undergraduate degree. All the best Kierah.

Rukuhia te ruku a te Kawau. Research with diligence.

04/02/2026

JANUARY WRAP UP

January has been a full and inspiring month for our Innovation and Research team.

We farewelled four of our amazing summer interns after they completed thoughtful reports and presentations on kaupapa that included: increasing whānau engagement in cancer screening, to oral health data evaluation in the Whanganui rohe, to the value of physiotherapy in general practice and cervical screening 20 years ago to the recent HPV pilot. Their mahi has added real value to how we think about meeting the needs of whānau.

We also welcomed a new intern who has begun exploring oral health models o f care within Māori health providers.

A special highlight has been the first birthday of Te Whare Piringa
at 284 St Hill Street. Over the past year this space has become a place of belonging and connection. We celebrate every māmā and pāpā who have dropped in, joined wānanga, met their midwife here, found support or simply helped shape what the whare has become.

We were privileged to host a powerful collective of wahine leaders at Te Whare Piringa – National and Regional Hauora Māori Chief Midwives alongside local maternity and child health leadership. Their visit affirmed the importance of this kaupapa and the difference it is making for whānau.

Our Hapai Mauri Tangata team have also shown what prototype mahi looks like in action – agile, adaptable and solution focused as the test new ways of working to better meet whānau needs.

Plenty of mahi ahead but we’re feeling grateful, motivated and ready for the year to come!

19/12/2025

Farewell Dave 🤍

Dave Hursthouse’s journey with Healthy Families Whanganui, Rangitīkei, Ruapehu began with a simple moment at Pākaitore - noticing free kai, and a Maramataka calendar at a table, which sparked a long lasting connection. From that moment, a journey of deep collaboration, learning, and impact began.

Dave played a pivotal role in developing the Case for Change for a Regenerative Local Kai System in Whanganui. Responding to food insecurity heightened by Covid-19, this mahi centred community voices and mātauranga Māori to reimagine a mana-enhancing kai system shifting away from degenerative industrial models toward kai security, kai sovereignty, and collective wellbeing. Through this work, he helped form Kai Ora: Whanganui Kai Collective, building relationships, shifting mental models, and strengthening resource flows, laying foundations for enduring community-led change.

As a Kai Systems Innovator and later Lead Systems Innovator, Dave also contributed to the National Kai Report. Alongside this, he worked closely with rangatahi, beginning with Te Kākano, supporting rangatahi tāne to develop confidence, identity, and leadership.

One of Dave’s most significant contributions was leading Te Hoeroa ki Tū Manawa Ora – Journeying Toward Rangatahi Wellness. Grounded in Whanganui whakapapa and mātauranga Māori, Te Hoeroa provided a stigma-free space for rangatahi to grasp their hoeroa and navigate their awa of life with purpose, resilience, and self-determination. Dave’s leadership and his ability to capture rangatahi and whānau voice, led to the production of the Te Hoeroa ki Tū Manawa Ora Report.

In the midst of all this mahi, Dave completed his Doctorate of Professional Practice, focused on becoming tangata Tiriti. His research explored decolonisation as an essential response to socio-ecological crises driven by colonial beliefs of supremacy. Through kaupapa Māori and Indigenous leadership, he developed He Ripo, an applied ethical practice framework supporting non-Māori to decolonise, reorient as manuhiri, and contribute equitably to vibrant Te Tiriti relationships.

Dave leaves behind more than initiatives and reports. He leaves a cohort of interns inspired by his mentorship, colleagues who were won over by his character, care, and integrity, and communities strengthened by his mahi.

He ringa raupā, he ngākau tapatahi, he tangata i ū ki te tika me te pono i roto i āna mahi katoa.

His influence lives on in the confidence of rangatahi, the strength of relationships he nurtured, and the ethical, values-led standard he set for all of us.

Hikitia te punga. Puritia te kakau o te hoeroa. Haere pai atu e hoa. 💚💚💚