He Tirohanga Whakamuri: Reflecting on 2025

“Titiro ki ngā rā kua hori hei arataki i te huarahi kei mua i te aroaro.” 
Look to the days that have passed to guide the path before us. 

2025 has been an awesome year for Healthy Families East Cape (HFEC). We have continued to lead with aroha, working alongside hapū, iwi, and kaupapa partners to strengthen hononga, grow capability, and celebrate the mahi that keeps our region thriving. 

Our commitment to te ao Māori and tikanga remains a lived practice, one that goes beyond kaupapa timelines. It’s reflected in the way our team shows up for their whānau and hapori every day, on the marae, in the tari, and out in the hapori. This year that commitment has grown stronger through kaupapa, wānanga, and relationships that reflect mātauranga Māori, expand the voice of our whānau and build lasting systems change. 

We proudly presented at the Toi Tangata Hui a Tau held in Pōneke, sharing Taurikura our whānau-led water safety kaupapa. This was the first opportunity of many this year for the HFEC team to present together, and what a highlight that was. Te Kai a te Rangatira has been another significant kaupapa for the team this year. It has been a transformative leadership journey that over the past year has cultivated authentic Māori leadership, grounded in mātauranga Māori, whanaungatanga, and kaupapa Māori practice. With Dr Teah Carlson guiding us, every wānanga became a space to weave aroha, healing, creativity, innovation testing and strategy. From the outset, this kaupapa has been bigger than simply building individual leaders. It’s been about strengthening our understanding of prevention of chronic illness and our collective capability to support systems change alongside our hapori. HFEC recognise when the tide rises, we all rise and wanted to include Te Ao Hou Trust, in our final session for the year, with opportunities to wānanga together and share awesome and valuable insights as mentioned by Whānau Ora Navigator Shaun Gebert 

“Don’t be pushed by your problems, be driven by your dreams.”  

Our initiatives have continued to flourish. Through strategic partnerships with Kauora and Tangaroa Ara Rau, Māori Water Practitioners and Te Mahi Ako, we supported and co-developed tikanga led lesson plans, a first of its kind. These are now part of a national qualification focused on developing new Māori swimming instructors, through a programme called Te Ara Kauhoe. Students arrived excited and ready to be a part of the kaupapa. 

"I’m excited to jump into this kaupapa to upskill myself to ensure our tamariki are safe in the wai, and to encourage whānau on the Coast to be a part of this kaupapa too. The more that are upskilled, the better it is for our tamariki." Participant of Te Ara Kauhoe.   

Another first for HFEC this year, establishing Te Manawa Taki alongside Healthy Families Te Ngira and Rotorua. The intention is to create a roadmap on how we can collectivise our kaupapa and strengthen regional alignment. Across the three sites that make up Te Manawa Taki, regular engagements are taking place as we work together on producing shared tools and creating an insights report. 

HFEC have worked together to launch He Maramataka Tāwhito Hou, a revised maramataka resource, guided by our Rautaki Māori, Jade Kameta. This resource will be the foundational supporting tool across all current and future kaupapa HFEC engage in supporting and helping whānau and hapori to (re)connect with the natural cycles that guide wellbeing. 

There have been a range of transformative wānanga HFEC have attended and supported such as the Hui Tāne in Kaitaia, the Global Indigenous Astronomy Symposium in Australia, connecting celestial knowledge to the way we work, the Changemakers Tane Ora conference in Tūranganui a Kiwa, the regional Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder forum and our commitment to Te Hā Kura, formally known as Taki Tahi Toa Mano, a network dedicated to harm reduction of tobacco, alcohol and vaping. These wheako remind us that Indigenous leadership is both local and global, grounded in whakapapa, whanaungatanga and connected to wider wellbeing. 

Our partnerships have also grown in strength and influence. Through kaupapa like wānanga kai, we’ve worked alongside Massey University, the University of Otago, and EIT to explore the intersections of kai sovereignty, climate resilience, and mental health. At Te Aowera Marae, we facilitated a systems mapping activity that surfaced practical and cultural insights from kai growers and whānau, anchoring systems change in lived experience and marae-based learning. 

Wellbeing across our hapori remains at the heart of our mahi. The amended Alcohol Control Bylaw, which came into effect in October, marked an important milestone in creating safer spaces for tamariki and whānau. This success reflects the strength of community advocacy and the power of collective action. 

Collaborations with leaders like Dr Teah Carlson, Dr Naomi Simmonds, Dr Ken Taiapa, Dr Christina McKercher, and Dr Terina Raureti continue to strengthen our āheitanga as a collective. Together, we are shaping kaupapa that reflect Indigenous leadership, advance Māori led research, and embed mātauranga Māori across health, kai, and education systems. 

Internally, our leadership continues to flourish with the support and guidance of our Tumu Whakarae Tomairangi Higgins, whose skills and leadership bridges grassroots advocacy and strategic influence. HFEC is committed to continue to weave together mātauranga Māori, systems thinking, and collective action for the wellbeing of Te Tairāwhiti, East Cape. 

Our kaupapa extends to building the systems and conditions that prevent long-term illness. Whether through reclaiming kai sovereignty, strengthening cultural connection to wai, or promoting alcohol-free and nicotine-free environments through Te Hā Kura, our work remains focused on reshaping systems to protect hauora across generations. This year our team has taken a lead role in revitalising this space. By grounding the group in systems thinking and Māori-led approaches, HFEC has created space for cross-sector collaboration to drive upstream solutions, build regional leadership, and influence policy, practice and resource flow across Te Tairāwhiti. 

As we close the year, we’re proud of the growth, hononga, and transformation that 2025 has brought. Each partnership, wānanga, and kaupapa represents another step toward a healthier, more connected Te Tairāwhiti. Together, we are nurturing the conditions where our people and places can thrive. 

Mai te tīma o He Oranga Whānau Te Tairāwhiti, kia hari, kia koa, kia haumaru tō Raumati.