Another weekend, another chance to connect with the community! It was a great day to get Emergency Ready with a little fun injected into it. There was lots of emergency readiness information, free games and activities for all the whanau. 

We were there to engage with the community regarding our Volunteer Communicator database - a meaningful initiative we've rolled out to help our language diverse communities feel supported, safe, included & emergency ready.

If you speak more than one language, you can sign up to our database - it's quick and easy, we'll only share your number if your language skills are needed in an emergency!

Click on the link below or contact us to get the poster sent to you!

Volunteer Communicator Database Form – Prefilled form 

Thanks for having us, Green Bay Community House

Thanks to AEM for the photos.

We were invited to support our friends at Ambrico Neighbourhood Hub and Te Toi Uku Clay Museum! It was a wholesome day of puppet shows, live music, Neighbours Cafe, Hungerball, a Les Mills exercise-along... and more! 

We love community engagement events like these, it gives us an opportunity to connect, engage and get to know people a little better, in a relaxed setting. 

Photo cred: Chris Double

We kicked off the Chinese New Year with a stall at the Olympic Park in New Lynn, engaging with the community and exploring the bilingual Story Walk provided by Auckland Emergency Management and Whau Community Emergency Readiness Network. 

We were invited to support New Lynn Community Centre at their annual fun-filled Summer event at Olympic Park. It was a wonderful opportunity to connect with our community and with Blockhouse Bay Community Centre,  whom we shared our stall with! 

The smoothie bike was hugely popular with children and adults! Thanks to New Lynn Community Centre for inviting us, see you at the next one! 

This week, some our collective had the privilege of spending a morning at Hoani Waititi Marae in Oratia, deepening our understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and *Te Ao Māori. We were welcomed onto the marae and experienced first-hand how rich with culture, respect, and connection the space is.

Our hosts guided us through the marae grounds, which include a Māori immersion school, gardens filled with nourishment, a traditional hāngī pit, and many other taonga/treasures that bring the marae to life. One of the highlights was learning to weave a putiputi (flax flower) with the wonderful Anne-Margeret, who shared both her skill and her stories with us.

We closed the day gathered in a circle, reflecting on what we had learned and the gratitude we felt for such a meaningful experience. Each of us offered a single word to capture how we were feeling. Words like “grateful,” “honoured,” “mānākitanga,” and “humble” were just some of the words used.

For anyone wanting to deepen their understanding of Te Tiriti and Te Ao Māori - especially those new to Aotearoa - we encourage a visit to this special place and its people. 

Ngā mihi nui / our heartfelt thanks to Hoani Waititi for welcoming us into their sacred space. 

If you’d like to learn more about Hoani Waititi Marae, you can visit their website: 

Home - Hoani Waititi Marae 

*Te Ao Māori literally translates to "the Māori world." It represents the knowledge, understandings, and practices that have developed from the unique cultural context of Aotearoa (New Zealand) over more than a thousand years. This worldview emphasizes the interconnectedness of all living things and the importance of relationships between people and the natural environment.

Special thanks to Whau Local Board for making this visit possible.