Latest News| Community Development

Tuia te here tangata Bind the knot of humankind

2008 saw exciting new beginnings for the Te Hoe Nuku Roa whanau as we branched into our 7th rohe, Nelson-Marlborough Sounds. Our first step of the process began in June/July where we located our Maori households across the region. Over a number of weeks our fieldworkers covered a wide area including Nelson, across to Glenduan, out to Okiwi Bay and Durville Island, over to Blenheim and Picton, out to Kenepuru Sound and as far south as Seddon. A few pairs of shoes, some very sore legs (a few lost kgs!), and nearly 1800kms later we were able to get a fair idea of where our whanau were residing. Come September we were able to start our research in earnest and were humbled by the warm welcomes we had from households across the region as they accepted our invite to participate in the study. One particularly impressive incident one of our fieldworkers lost her cellphone in Nelson city. We sent a text to the phone in the remote chance it may be returned (but weren't entirely hopeful). To our surprise we received a text back and the phone was returned later that afternoon. So impressive to see honesty and goodwill still abundant! Indeed it was this type of goodwill, along with the lovely climate, beautiful scenery, and support of great locals such as Maria Briggs that made our mahi in this region so enjoyable.

Throughout this recent phase of research we have been trialling new types of research including clinical tests for cholesterol and diabetes, physical measurements, and a new tool for measuring the health of the houses that our whänau are living in, all of which are expected to give us a more in-depth view of the overall health and lifestyles of whanau Mäori in the Nelson/Marlborough region.

The fieldwork and analysis has now been completed and draft reports are now underway. The full report will be sent out to all participants in the near future. Keep posted on our website for details regarding our feedback roadshow, due for late 2009.

Tënei te mihi atu ki ngä takuahi o Te Tauihu a Te Waka a Mäui mö o koutou manaakitanga, o koutou whakaaro, o koutou körero hoki, nö reira, nau mai, eke mai ki tö tätau nei waka, arä ko Te Hoe Nuku Roa.

KÄINGA ORANGA - HEALTHY HOUSING INDEX

In early 2009 Te Hoe Nuku Roa, with the support of Nelson-Marlborough District Health Board, embarked upon a study of the housing environments within which our whanau are living. This research seeks to understand the link between housing and health at both a community and individual household level. Our researchers, with the help of Environmental Health Officer Rob Draper, visited 80 homes in the Nelson/Marlborough region, gathering information on the structure and conditions of various homes. It is hoped that ongoing application of the Healthy Housing Index study will help in the identification of high need homes, families, and communities and provide a basis on which to target resources to reduce inequalities in health.

As always, we are happy to discuss the study with you if you'd like to contact us. We can be reached at 06 350 5927, or for areas outside of Palmerston North 0800 009 705. Alternatively, drop us an email at: tehoenukuroa@massey.ac.nz

Noho ora mai.