Kia ora everyone Wow, we’ve landed in March already. I hope you have been keeping well and trying to manage as best you can in these changeable times that we’re living in. Keep yourself and your whānau safe. If you need an ear, some support or advocacy, I am only a...
Kia ora everyone Welcome back to the New Year. I hope you managed to have some rest over the holiday period. In the last few weeks, we have started to prepare ourselves again for the year ahead, including purchasing stationery, uniforms, and getting ready for new...
Tena Koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa, I must say, it feels like quite an achievement to have reached the end of 2021 with a year so full of challenges! It feels very good to know the holiday season is around the corner and for those of you with Auckland whānau,...
Tena koutou katoa, I have continued to touch base with many of our members over Term Two and now into Term Four. I have been calling caregivers in our Northwest region to check how you all are doing. It’s been a privilege to hear how caregivers are overcoming...
Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou katoa / Warm greetings to you all, I hope you're taking good care of yourselves. I’ve been touching base with our caregiver members across the North West region. When speaking on the phone, caregivers present as a pragmatic, resilient...
Tena Koutou Katoa / Greetings, hello to you all, Well done everyone! We’ve been staying in our bubbles for lockdown, dealing with it all the best we can. For caregivers, it’s obviously meant big changes with tamariki (children) at home again and all that entails. As I...
Tena Koutou Katoa, A new term ahead and exciting times for Caring Families Aotearoa! You may have heard we have brand new trainings being delivered over the next year! I want to especially highlight the Ako Ngātahi series of on-line trainings that are available, as we...
Tena Koutou Katoa, I have been out and about the region with training and it’s been fantastic to catch up with regular attendees and meet caregivers attending their first trainings in Whanganui, Stratford, and New Plymouth. I have heard some beautiful examples of...
Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou katoa / Warm greetings to you all, As winter settles in, the days are getting shorter and colder, it feels like quite a sensible idea to just stay put! Winter can be great for stripping some of the busyness away and not running ourselves...
Tena Koutou Katoa, I hope you enjoyed Easter, the school holidays and hopefully a slight change of pace? Since our last Newsletter I have had a wee holiday in the lovely far North with mixed weather, but it was refreshing. I felt really blessed to have those few...
Tena Koutou, Tena Koutou, Tena Koutou Katoa, It’s been a busy couple of months at our house as my husband and I have supported my elderly parents to purchase a new home and sell up so they can live closer to amenities and closer to the practical support we are able to...
Tena Koutou, Tena Koutou, Tena Koutou Katoa, Foster Care Awareness Week is a time to reflect on and celebrate the great contribution you have all made and continue to make. Through your care and commitment, you have and will continue to change lives for the better....
Ngā mihi o te tau hou / Happy new year, I hope you are all enjoying the holidays and starting to feel refreshed! I also hope you are having some time and space to envision the new year ahead with all the learnings from 2020. Keep an eye out on the ‘Event Finder’ site...
Tena Koutou, Tena Koutou, Tena Koutou Katou, This year more than any other (of my ten years working in the area of foster care), I have been keenly aware of the challenges for caregivers. Caregivers continuously demonstrate their strength as they care and advocate for...
Kia ora, I’ve enjoyed being out on the road again training in South Taranaki and Whanganui. In October I presented Legal Information for Caregivers and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Coming up for training; online Keeping Memories and Understanding National Care...
Kia ora, Welcome to the Whiringa-ā-nuku (October) Snippets. We have almost made it through this incredible year and we are on the home straight! I have run out of words to try and say how I feel about the way the world has changed this year. As time goes by, I take...
Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou katoa / Warm greetings to you all, In my work, I find myself regularly going back to a great book: Kim Golding’s "Nurturing Attachments – Supporting children who are fostered or adopted". Every time I read it; I find another nugget of gold....
Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou katoa / Warm greetings to you all, I’ve been wondering how you are supporting your tamariki (children) and rangatahi (young people) to make sense of what’s happening around them in the world at the moment, especially while we manage our own...
Kia ora koutou, ‘Ha waka eke noa – We are all in this together’ is a proverb that we all became familiar with during lockdown. It speaks to this idea of being connected, an awareness of our commonality as opposed to our differences. Caregivers now have the opportunity...
Kia ora koutou, As I work from my desk at home and reflect on the past, in many ways I’m grateful for the opportunity lockdown created to experience my life differently. Many of you shared this gratefulness during my ring around of the region, it was fantastic...