Ngā mihi o te Tau Hōu Pākehā ki a koutou katoa e ngā Matua Whāngai/Pākehā New Year Greetings to all you Caregivers
I am thinking of those who have been affected by the ongoing weather events, and I hope you are all doing okay. My thoughts and prayers are with you all. If you need caregiver support during this time, please contact your agency. If you do not have an agency, please call me (027 566 0294) or Caring Families Aotearoa (0800 693 323) for support.
Well, the holidays overall were less sunshine and more rain but we had fun with our moko, Uenuku. Here is Dennis and Uenuku with Te Kūmara o Te Kaipara!
RuruHana (Leanne)
Brownie
Upper North Regional Coordinator
09 283 9483 or 027 566 0294
Back to school for our mokopuna soon! These starts are transitions that can cause anxiety and other difficult emotions to surface. Go gently everyone!
TRAINING
There are a range of online trainings taking place this month and we are also introducing a new face-to-face workshop, which I will be presenting in Whangarei on the 21st of February.
Helping children feel safe – providing structure and supervision. This workshop is full of strategies and tips to help you provide structure and supervision for tamariki in your care.
I’ll try as much as possible to allow us extra space to connect and for great discussions. I love learning from the wisdom in the room. You all have much to offer in these sessions so please come along and share your stories of struggle and joy.
To find out more about our courses or register, please click below.
SUPPORT
Coffee Groups will start back in March, and our coffee club in Kaikohe will be monthly on the 3rd Friday of the month at the Art Gallery.
For the first week of March, Caring Families Aotearoa will be celebrating all our wonderful caregivers during Foster Care Awareness Week. If you join our private Facebook Group during this week, I’ll have some ‘one off’ L’Oreal products to give away. Click below to join.
Caring Families Aotearoa Upper North Support Facebook Group
I work Mon, Tues 8.30am-3.30pm, Wed, 8.30-4.00pm. At times I’m out of the office for training and support so text before you come. I’d love to see you in my space.
My office space
Important Reminder
Just a reminder there is still time to apply for the School and Year Start-up Payment (closes 28 February) and the Extraordinary Care Fund (the next round of applications closes 17 February). More information about each of these Work and Income NZ entitlements can be found at School and Year Start-up Payment – Work and Income and Extraordinary Care Fund – Work and Income
EVENTS
In Whangārei we have Te Rā o ngā Tamariki (Children’s Day), after two ‘no-go’ years, weather permitting, so mark your calendar for Sunday 5th March. Free buses will get you to and from the new venue in Tikipunga, 104 Cork’s Road, Te Ora Hōu, grounds and facilities. There will be free food and lots of fun to celebrate our children.
See you there with my new orange CFA gazebo and lots of giant bubbles! For those caregivers who come and make themselves known to me, I’ll have a selection of L’Oreal products for you to choose from.
Molly and I will run a special Foster Care Awareness Week Coffee Group in Whangarei on Monday 6 March at McDonalds from 10.30am-12.00pm. A chance to get together and share stories, the highlights and the hurdles. If you would like to attend this event please click on the link below to our Foster Care Awareness Week page on our website and look for the Upper North Events.
Noho Marino, Noho Hono/Stay Calm, Stay Connected
Nā RuruHana