We are a disabled person and family led organisation established to support the voice and leadership of disabled people, tāngata whaikaha Māori, families and whānau to live their good lives. We do this by working with disability support providers to enhance the quality of their support and ensure its alignment with Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Enabling Good Lives, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
We contract associates, who have extensive experience in the delivery of services, to directly assist organisations to reflect on and improve how they support disabled people.
We will also explore ways to work directly with disabled people and families in assisting the design of their supports based on their unique circumstances.
Our name “Te Pou Waiora” was gifted to us by Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Awa ki re Awa o Te Atua, Iramoko Marae. The name speaks to how we work at Te Pou Waiora and the centrality to partnership to our approach.
In traditional Māori narratives of the origin of the universe, Pou were pillars of light, used to keep sky and earth separated. This allowed the natural world to flourish and, in turn, people to prosper.
So, before you move outwards you start inwards.
As well as sustaining life in a physical sense, the environment is essential to cultural wellbeing for many people by providing a sense of place. For Maori this is expressed through the concept of turangawaewae, a place to stand. It is also about a journey to wellness in the fullest sense (wairua/ spirit, tinana/ body, whenua/ place and time, hinengaro/ mind and emotions, whānau/ family and social connection)
Te Pou Waiora then is about the person being strong in who they are, their place in the world and feeling they belong. It is about holistic health and wellbeing in all dimensions.
Te Pou Waiora refers to a solid foundation in all aspects of our life recogniszing the basic fundamentals of our existence being;
Having these foundations in place creates Te Pou Waiora which is being holistically connected to all things, the spirit, the mind, physical world, the creator, the ancestors, the people.
Te Pou Waiora is a brokerage agency that links organisations who want to develop and improve their work with experienced, skilled individuals who can support them do this. These individuals are contracted by Te Pou Waiora to do this work and we call these people Associates. Te Pou Waiora maintains a pool of associates so that we have a diverse range of skills and experience to support the range of activities we are likely to encounter. We will bring on extra associates if we find we do not have sufficient cover for any specific situation.
Current Associates include leaders with direct experience of service and system transformation from a range of perspectives including lived experience, family connection and working in senior leadership roles came together to respond to Whaikaha’s Assisting Change initiative.
Being successful in securing the contract for delivering the Assisting Change service, Associates have taken on different roles within the organisation:
Associates meet and liaise regularly to consider how Te Pou Waiora can assist in ensuring that alignment with the Enabling Good Lives principles, Te Tiriti O Waitangi and the UNCRPD remain at the forefront of service redesign, notwithstanding the fiscal challenges and structural changes in the current environment.
We are a disabled person and family led organisation and this is reflected in our Board and our personnel.
Chairperson
Deputy Chairperson
Board Member
Board Member
Board Member
Board Member
Interim Director
