Kia ora koutou,

Here’s hoping June was not too bad for you all with the weather conditions, as well as the ongoing strikes some of our school’s have been having.  It has been a challenging term for my whanau with the events above.  It’s also getting colder and we’ve added the extra blankets, beanies and gloves to our days as the bugs are starting to linger around again, so please do what you can to keep you and your tamariki well. 

Things I have been doing to help with the bugs in our whare:

• Making hearty slow cooked meals, adding all the bits and bobs that I have left over from other meals.
• Disguising vegies, in my cooking, by grating them into our meals.
• Adding garlic and ginger to every meal I can.
• I have started rubbing Vicks on my tamariki after their showers.
• Taking extra care of our benches and door handles giving them a quick spray and wipe when everyone is in bed.
• Having korero with my tamariki around blowing their nose, (not wiping it with their sleeve lol), not sharing their drinks, coughing into their elbows etc.

These are just some of the things I do to help, because as you all know, normally when one comes down with a cough or flu everyone else picks it up!

A win for me in June has been one of our Caregivers who has been so hard on herself, (she has been struggling and dealing with difficult behaviours), but has now accepted that, although she has had her tamariki in her care from the first couple of weeks since birth,  it is not her fault, and these behaviours have not come from something she has done wrong.  Instead, we are now learning what could have been contributing factors to the unborn baby from conception, and how this impacts on babies’ brains and development!!!

July is upon us, and here we are at the school holidays when it feels like we only just had school holidays.  For those of you who have tamariki in holiday programmes please look into whether you can be assisted with the OSCAR Subsidy through the Work and Income Website.

Matariki is also around the corner, with the official holiday being the 14th of July.  Do you have any specific plans? Or are you going to make the most of a day off work to relax?  We have the official National Ceremony here in the Central North this year, in Rotorua on the maunga of Ngongotaha which happens to be my maunga 😊.  It will be broadcast live as per last year – Matariki – Live Broadcast, if you can tune in do so, it was amazing last year. Let me know if you want to find out any further details.

SUPPORT

We currently have our Tauranga and Rotorua Support Groups up and running. If you would like to start a support group in your area please get in contact and I will be happy to assist you with this.

Tauranga Support Group

Liaison: Kahu Grace and Carol Lashley-Davies

Next meeting: 4th of August 2023

Venue: 56 Eighteenth Avenue, Tauranga    

Time: 10 –12pm

Topic:  To be confimed

Rotorua Support Group

Liaison: Lena Stirrup

Next meeting:  11th of August 2023

Venue: Redwood Forest, meet in the car park by the visitor’s centre.

Time:  10-12pm

Topic:  Wellness

If you need any support please do not hesitate to contact me!!! Nothing is too big or too small! We also have our private, caregiver only Facebook group for Central North, which is a great place to go for support. Click below to join.

TRAINING

For some of us, attending face-to-face training can be tricky, but I do encourage you to join us if you can.  Some of the information shared by caregivers enhances the learning and we get some valuable tips.  It is also a very nice space to share some of those things that are on top of us. 

Please click the button below to explore and register for training opportunities in our region.

If for any reason you are unable to make these sessions please make contact and I will arrange something that suits you if I am able.

EVENTS

There are a few Matariki events happening in our region, get along if you can and join in on the celebrations with the whānau.

We have our Regional Hui in October, if there is something jumping out at you that you think would be an amazing idea to include in our Regional Hui, let me know.

Nga mihi nui

Christine