MEDIA RELEASE | 11 Hūrae 2024
Emotions ran as high as the stars as up to 80 whānau drew together recently [EDITORS: Korekore Hahani, Thursday June 27 2024] at Ōturu Marae to celebrate Matāriki and the unveiling of its new health clinic with a traditional hautapu ceremony and blessing.
Te Pūtake Ora ō Ōturu is the dream of local whānau and hapū manifest into reality and the first of its kind in the Far North. A marae-driven prototype, the clinic will offer consistent healthcare access to mainly Māori and rural communities two days per week.
This comes after the marae’s successful response to Cyclone Gabrielle, when the marae committee, Manatū Hauora (Ministry of Health), Te Whatu Ora and (then) Te Aka Whai Ora banded together to establish a taskforce that provided civil emergency recovery in the Far North.
Now, it is one of two Te Tai Tokerau marae-based clinics that received funding from Te Whatu Ora in late 2023 to target access for Māori, Pasifika, rurally isolated and non-enrolled, or non-engaged whānau.
At the launch, the scene was set by Hone Popata and his whānau with a poignant hautapu ceremony, or an offering of karakia and kai to each of the nine stars that make up the Matāriki star cluster, marking the beginning of the Māori new year.
“This is marae driven and we create what it looks like. What this has done has brought life back to our marae, because over the last 10 years, it’s really been tangihanga, unveilings, kawe mate and the odd birthday. The marae committee is working on further developments for the current and future generations,” says Ōturu Marae chairperson Robert Larkins.
The clinic will be operated two days a week by nurse Marlene Sexton, who comes armed with years of prior experience, and specialises in respiratory health and tamariki ora. It will be offering a range of services including cardiovascular risk assessments, cholesterol checks, hearing tests, vaccinations/immunisations, driver medicals, access to other GP services (including Whakarongorau Aotearoa/NZ Telehealth Services), links to rongoā Māori services, additional whaiora services, health education and promotion, health screening and monitoring (cervical, bowel, breast and retinal), and other holistic and integrated services.
“This marae-based hauora hub kicks off a moemoeā of connection and oranga for the whānau within the rohe between Kaitāia, the east Coast, and surrounding rural areas. It helps that I work three days in the Outpatients Clinic at Kaitāia Hospital, and I can network with all the different specialist services and make the right referrals,” Marlene says.
Part of Marlene’s role will be to refer whānau through to assorted services available in Te Hiku, however, the Ōturu Marae committee is looking forward to branching out the marae’s capacity and capability. The recent korowai-making wānanga was just the beginning of the possibilities for the future of the marae as a hub for holistic oranga activities and programmes.
The opening ceremony was led by Ratana minister Andrew Rollo, who guided marae kaumātua Barney Popata and kuia Whaea Iri (Nene) Martin to remove the korowai that had been woven by kaiāwhina Kyla Smith to reveal the clinic’s sign.
The clinic takes its name from the concept of a pūtake, which is the strong foundational root of a tree that provides its life source not just for the present but for future generations, Kyla explains. As those that were in attendance burst into waiata tautoko composed by Puhi Murupaenga, it was obvious what the occasion meant to the whānau warming themselves by the fire and moving quietly beneath the exterior fairy lights in the hushed dawn light. Whānau member and local social service kaimahi Aisha McManus says having a health clinic permanently based at the marae validates that whānau see the marae as a “safe space.”
“The clinic is a barrier breaker for whānau and hapū. It can be seen as safe to engage in, by virtue of being aligned with the marae, in partnership with haukāinga. To be Māori and be able to participate in clinical and rongoā spaces that sit side by side is a road to breaking barriers for our people to engage. While this is not a new concept to ngā iwi Māori, it is often overlooked and unsupported,” she says.
Te Pūtake Ora o Ōturu is located at Ōturu Marae, 223 Ōturu Road, Kaitāia and is attended on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9am to 3pm.
For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/OturuMarae.
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