Māori health models – Te Whare Tapa Whā

Routine is something I’ve spoken about in the past, it’s so important, I believe in ‘every day’ life but more so it's been important in recent Lock down and Alert level changes. It reminds us that we’re not on holiday, we still have work to do, deadlines to meet, schoolwork to do (even if it’s minimal) house chores and Whanau to feed, including pets that will let you know if you’ve slept in and neglected to feed them at a certain time!

I been thinking over the past few months of those families affected by the prolonged lockdowns and changes to daily routines and life. How it must be a struggle to sustain mental health and physical well-being. I'm sure all of us have felt our whole ‘te whare tapa whā’ has been shaken and it will take time I’m sure to come back to a place of safety and relaxation.

What has struck me throughout the past couple of years is the heart-warming communities we live in.

Routine is particularly important too, especially for those children, young people and adults on the spectrum or have other disabilities where routine is a huge part of their mental well-being. I’ve been thinking too a lot about these beautiful people, especially those I’m closely connected with

through my work. Some of the children and young people I support have no idea why their routine has had to change, why this year their daily school life has been changed, why they have had disruptions to schooling, socializing, engaging in therapies, or sporting activities. I've seen family members continue to do the amazing work they do by supporting their Tamariki and Rangatahi, reassuring them that all is OK.

We’re all in this together (we’ve heard that a lot) but we’re not all in one Waka, we all each are in our own Waka’s, guiding it in the best possible way we know how to keep it afloat through a challenging journey, a journey that we’re all in together.

Although in different Waka’s we ‘see’ each other and try where possible to support each other from afar. If for safety reasons we need to jump

into someone else’s Waka it’s done so for keeping that Whanau ‘Safe’, ‘Secure’ and to allow them to reach the end destination we all want to get too.