Ko Kapowai tana maunga.
Ko Mahuhu ki te Rangi te waka.
Ko Waikare te awa.
Ko Te Turuki te marae.
Ko Whiti te tupuna.
Ko Te Kapotai te hapū.
Ko Ngāpuhi te Iwi.
Ko Fran Hauraki ahau.

I am sharing this kōrero to introduce who I am, the mahi I bring to FASD-CAN, and why Te Iho Tātai-a-Rongo / FASD has become important for my whānau and the wider kaupapa in Te Taitokerau.

Tēna koutou katoa. I am the Navigator for Te Taitokerau and have been involved with the FASD-CAN kaupapa for the past year. I have facilitated numerous FASD kaupapa from the Hokianga to Bluff, including a 15-week Te Iho Tātai-a-Rongo FASD-informed kaupapa for caregivers. It has been an amazing experience, and I have had the privilege of working alongside RuruHana Brownie, whom I consider my tuakana and mentor in this mahi.

I am currently working part-time as a Health Improvement Practitioner and Registered Social Worker for Mahitahi Hauora, based at Rawene Hospital and Hauora Hokianga, where I have worked for the past three years. I’ve worked in the social services sector for more than 20 years across the Whangārei rohe, including roles with Ngāti Hine Health Trust, Barnardos, Jigsaw North Whānau Services, and the Children’s Team when it first started in Whangārei.

My husband and I live on a papakāinga in Ngāwhā, five minutes before Kaikohe, on his tūpuna whenua. We have three adult tamariki and 13 mokopuna. Eight of our mokopuna live on the papakāinga with our eldest daughter and her husband.

Since being on the path of Te Iho Tātai-a-Rongo FASD, I have been learning how to ensure the next generation in my whānau is FASD-informed. My daughter attended the 15-week caregiver programme that Ruruhana and I delivered in the Hokianga, and my 20-year-old whāngai mokopuna completed the ‘Brain Not Blame’ workshop. My daughter suspects her five boys may have FASD, and on that day my mokopuna turned to me and asked, “Do I have FASD?” We went home that evening and had further kōrero. 

This kaupapa has opened a whakaaro for our whānau: alcohol will no longer be part of our whakapapa. We know this will take time.

Ngā mihi.